USD

The US dollar managed to regain a lot of lost ground in yesterday’s trading sessions when risk aversion extended its stay in the markets. 

In addition, data from the US was stronger than expected, with the headline durable goods orders showing a 2.0% jump and the core figure indicating a 0.6% gain. US preliminary GDP, initial jobless claims, and pending home sales reports are lined up for today and another batch of strong figures could renew dollar demand. The Jackson Hole Symposium is also set to start today but Yellen’s absence has dampened expectations for a Fed announcement.

EUR

The euro gave back its recent wins to its rivals, despite the lack of any reports from the euro zone yesterday. Traders seem to be reverting to the lower-yielding dollar and Japanese yen, dumping their riskier euro holdings in the process. There are still no major reports due from the euro zone today, which suggests that market sentiment could continue to play a role in euro price action.

GBP

The pound suffered a sharp selloff against its forex peers in yesterday’s sessions, even though there wasn’t any major catalyst for the drop. Analysts say that this was spurred by Cable’s inability to break past key resistance levels, forcing traders to liquidate their pound positions instead. Only the Nationwide HPI report is due from the UK today, leaving traders to hold out for the top-tier UK second GDP estimate and quarterly business investment report due tomorrow.

CHF

The franc followed in the euro’s footsteps and weakened against its forex counterparts, even though the Swiss UBS consumption indicator showed a climb from 1.61 to 1.64. There are no reports due from Switzerland today.

JPY

After a bit of consolidation and profit-taking, the yen resumed its rally against its counterparts in yesterday’s trading session. The Nikkei managed to chalk up a decent win for the day, although risk appetite generally remained weak. There have been no reports out of Japan yesterday and none are due today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were still in a weak spot yesterday, but some managed to score wins against the European currencies. Oil saw a slight rebound, thanks to the drop in US crude oil inventories. Earlier today, Australia reported a 4.0% drop in private capital expenditure and a downgrade in the previous report. No other reports are due from the comdoll economies today, leaving risk sentiment and commodity prices as the main drivers of price action.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way