CNY fix soothes, helping underpin better......>

FOREX: CNY fix soothes, helping underpin better risk appetite

-Acute bouts of volatility have followed the PBoC's CNY fix in recent sessions,

but that wasn't the case Thursday as the PBoC acted to stem some of the

speculation by fixing the USD/CNY slightly weaker, but well below expectations.

This allowed the recovery in AUD/USD to extend further, boosting AUD/USD back

toward the week's highs at $0.6805. NZD is unsurprisingly still lagging, with

members of the RBNZ touting the use of negative rate policy to fend off an

inflation shock in a parliamentary appearance overnight. AUD/NZD looks on track

to test the 100-dma at 1.0521 in the coming sessions.

-With risk appetite dusting itself off, equity futures are higher in the US and

Europe which has worked against the greenback somewhat. The USD index sits

slightly lower but will likely find support at the 100-dma at 97.326 which

helped prop up prices yesterday.

-Weekly US jobless claims data, wholesale trade sales/inventories and Canadian

new housing price indices are the data highlights Thursday. The speakers slate

is empty.