U.S. Mid-Morning Update: Tight Trading For The Majors

Economic data releases for both the Eurozone and U.S. have been influential aspects of the markets today. As stated by my colleague Skerdian, the BOE led the news overnight, heating up the GBP/USD.

Scheduled economic reports commonly bring participation to the markets, driving price action. For active traders, capitalizing upon this volatility is the name of the game. Let's dig into the U.S. stats and find a trading idea for the second half of the U.S. session.

U.S. Economic Data Releases

Statistical economic data is largely for aspiring economists, politicians, and academics. However, today’s hard numbers are worth a look:

Event                                                        Projection             Actual

Continuing Jobless Claims (July 21)          1.955M                 1.968M

Initial Jobless Claims (July 28)                     242K                      240K

In addition, Markit Economics, ISM, and the U.S. Census Bureau did some reporting:

Event                                                       Projection              Actual

Markit Services PMI (July)                           54.2                      54.2

Factory Orders (MoM, June)                        2.9%                     3.0%

ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI (July)              57.0                      53.9

The U.S. releases did not hold many surprises. Jobless claims came in slightly mixed, with the Markit PMI unchanged. Factory orders were up slightly and the ISM stats for July came in below expectations but still bullish. The market is seemingly on top of this slate of data.

Impact On Majors

Well, my optimism towards the trading ranges opening up a bit for a few of the majors has faded quickly. As of now, the EUR/USD is rotational with a daily range of 50 pips. The USD/CHF is just as tight at 45 pips for the day, and the USD/CAD is following suit.

On The Radar: USD/JPY

The USD/JPY is seeing continued downward momentum towards the August 1st low of 109.92. At the moment this is pretty much the only major outside of the GBP/USD that is not range bound.

Patience, Patience, Patience

As I saw yesterday on my USD/CAD short, patience is a virtue. Market conditions were largely rotational, with price trickling upward to take out the stop. While the long-term view is still bearish, trade location is everything. Staying out of quiet markets can be the best course of action.

Today, we are faced with tight markets. It is a better approach to wait for a directional break or trade a more active asset class.