USD

The US dollar gave up ground on Friday when risk appetite returned to the financial markets. 

There were no major reports out of the US then but the medium-tier import prices data showed a smaller 0.3% decline compared to the projected 0.7% drop. There are no major reports lined up from the US economy today, leaving traders to price in expectations for the FOMC statement later in the week.

EUR

The euro regained ground to the dollar but weakened to the commodity currencies. Only the Italian industrial production report was released from the region then and it showed a stronger than expected 1.9% gain. Euro zone industrial production data is due today and a 1.7% rebound is eyed.

GBP 

The pound was also able to score gains against the dollar, yen, and euro. Medium-tier reports from the UK came in mostly in line with expectations and there are no reports up for release for today.

CHF

The franc carried on with its climb against the dollar despite the lack of top-tier data from Switzerland then. There are still no reports due from the Swiss economy today so the franc might be driven by market sentiment.

JPY

The yen was in a weak spot as risk-taking took place. There were no reports out of the Japanese economy then and none are due today, which means that yen pairs could be sensitive to risk sentiment and positioning ahead of tomorrow’s BOJ statement.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls raked in strong gains on Friday, driven mostly by the pickup in crude oil. As it turns out, US oil rig counts have fallen again, leading to speculations of lower production levels and upward pressure on prices. Canada printed a weaker than expected jobs report as it lost 2.3K jobs in February and saw the jobless rate rise to 7.3%. Over the weekend, data from China came in mixed as industrial production and retail sales fell short of forecasts while fixed asset investment turned out better than expected. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way