London Open Briefing: Monday, July 20, 2026

The London session commences with a mixed tone after Asian trading. Equity indices show slight declines, with the UK100 down 0.41% and the JP225 down 0.20%. Conversely, commodity currencies have seen gains, with NZDUSD up 0.28% and AUDUSD rising 0.22%. The Risk Meter stands at +0.08, suggesting a slight risk-on sentiment as traders begin the European day.

Overnight, New Zealand’s trade figures were released. The Trade Balance 12-Months (NZD) came in at -3.746B, missing the consensus of -3.298B. The monthly Trade Balance (NZD) was 0.023B, significantly below the 250M consensus. Imports were 8.07B and Exports were 8.093B. Despite these figures, the NZD is among the stronger currencies over the last 24 hours, up +0.07%, with AUD leading at +0.10%.

Looking ahead, a series of Canadian inflation reports are scheduled for 12:30 UTC. This includes Canada CPI m/m, with a consensus of -0.2% against a previous 1.0%, along with Median CPI y/y, Trimmed CPI y/y, Core CPI y/y, and Common CPI y/y. Later, at 14:00 UTC, the CB Leading Economic Index m/m for the USD is due, with a consensus of -0.2%.

Retail positioning shows notable disagreement on NZDUSD by 30 points, USDCHF by 29 points, and USDCAD by 23 points.

Traders will closely monitor the upcoming Canadian CPI data for potential market impact.

Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)

Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.