Summary

• The Dollar Index is off about 0.25% ahead of the North American session, and, if it is sustained, it would be the largest decline since early May.
• The euro held above Wednesday’s low for the year (~$1.1325) and recovered to almost $1.1390 around the end of the European session on Thursday. Although the move above Wednesday’s high (~$1.1385) was not sustained yesterday, the euro extended the gains today to nearly $1.1415.
• The prospect of official intervention has deflected some of the dollar buying away from the yen, and ironically, so far this month, it is the best-performing G10 currency, down around 1.4%.
• The decline in oil prices has taken a toll on the Norwegian krone. It is off around 0.3% today and has been tagged for nearly 2% this week.
• Global equities are heavy today. Nasdaq futures are off a little more than 1%, and the S&P 500 is trading around 0.5% lower.

There have been two key developments this week, and they are both evident today. The first is the continued pullback in oil prices. August WTI is off almost 9% this week, after dropping as much last week and 5.25% the week