USD

The US dollar chalked up small gains against its forex counterparts despite the lack of liquidity in yesterday’s market. US traders were off on a Labor Day holiday and there were no reports from the US economy. 

For today, only low-tier reports such as the NFIB small business index and labor market conditions index are lined up, leaving the US dollar sensitive to risk flows. 

EUR

The euro managed to edge slightly higher against the dollar in recent trading, taking advantage of the absence of US traders. Data from the euro zone was weaker than expected, with the German industrial production report printing a meager 0.7% gain versus the projected 1.2% increase and the Sentix investor confidence figure falling from 18.4 to 13.6. For today, only the German and French trade balance are lined up, along with the revised euro zone GDP reading.

GBP

The pound was able to bounce back in yesterday’s trading sessions even though there were no major reports released from the UK. The UK economic schedule is still empty today, which suggests that the pound might take its cue from market sentiment or that traders might position themselves ahead of the BOE announcement later on.

CHF

The franc regained a bit of ground in recent trading sessions, as the Swiss foreign currency reserves report didn’t indicate any signs of central bank intervention. The Swiss jobless rate is up for release today and it is expected to hold steady at 3.3%. 

JPY

The yen was still able to advance yesterday as the return of Chinese investors spurred risk-off moves during the Asian trading session. Data from Japan was mostly stronger than expected, with the current account balance showing a larger surplus and the final GDP reading revised from -0.4% to -0.3%. There are no major reports due from the Japanese economy today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were mostly stuck in consolidation in recent trading, as Canadian traders were also off on a holiday. Data from Australia and New Zealand showed promising results, as the ANZ job advertisements in Australia indicated a 1.0% gain while manufacturing sales picked up by 0.4% in New Zealand for Q2. Earlier today, Australia’s NAB business confidence index for August printed a decline from 4 to 1 but the Chinese trade balance showed a stronger than expected headline reading and a smaller than expected decline in exports.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way