EUR settles higher as ECB tease policy........>

FOREX: EUR settles higher as ECB tease policy action

-As widely suspected, the ECB effectively pre-announced that a suite of policy

actions will accompany the latest ECB economic forecasts in September, with

Draghi leaving the door open to a combination of interest rate cuts, further

asset purchases, tiered deposit rates and tweaks to forward guidance. EUR/USD

initially dipped on the release of policy statement before bottoming out at

$1.1102, a fresh 2019 low, and recovering north of $1.1150. While the policy

announcements were welcomed by EUR bears, the lack of affirmative action today

disappointed, sending the single currency modestly higher, dragging Eurozone

government bond yields with it.

-The greenback went from strength to strength as the US yield curve traded

higher and flatter on a particularly strong durable goods data beat: June prelim

numbers grew 2.0% vs. Exp. 0.7%, while weekly jobless claims were also

supportive.

-US advance GDP for Q2 is the highlight of the Friday session. The speaker slate

is particularly light with the Fed still in blackout.