USD
The dollar was able to rake in some gains against most of its counterparts, except against the Kiwi and Loonie.
The US CB leading index came up short at 0.3% versus the 0.4% consensus while the earlier reading was downgraded to 0.2%. Flash manufacturing and services PMIs are lined up today, along with new home sales data.
EUR
The euro edged slowly lower against most of its rivals as there have been no major reports to give the shared currency a boost recent. PMI reports from the manufacturing and services sectors of Germany and France are lined up, and analysts are expecting to see small dips in activity.
GBP
The pound was still one of the weaker performing currencies as Brexit uncertainties weighed on the UK currency. UK CBI industrial orders actually turned out better than expected as the index jumped from 9 to 16 instead of falling to 7. There are no reports due from the UK economy today.
CHF
The franc was mostly weaker against its peers as risk-taking forced the currency to slide, on top of fears of SNB intervention. Swiss trade balance was stronger than expected at 3.40 billion CHF versus the estimated 2.44 billion CHF or the earlier 1.96 billion CHF surplus. There are no reports due from the Swiss economy next.
JPY
The yen was also on the losing end as risk-taking came into play. There were no reports out of the Japanese economy yesterday while today has the flash manufacturing PMI on tap. Analysts are expecting to see a rise from 53.1 to 53.4 to reflect a faster pace of expansion.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The Kiwi enjoyed a strong boost after the RBNZ was less cautious than expected in their policy statement. The central bank kept rates unchanged and didn’t jawbone too much, even giving a more upbeat outlook for the economy. Meanwhile, crude oil chalked up another slide but the Loonie gained support from strong retail sales. The headline figure chalked up a 1.5% gain versus the projected 0.6% uptick while the core reading was up 0.8% versus 0.3%.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
