USD 

The US dollar staged a strong rally after seeing another round of upbeat medium-tier data.

The JOLTS job openings figure came in at a record high of 6.16 million, signaling plenty of hiring opportunities and a likely pickup in employment in the coming months. The NFIB Small Business Index and the IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index also came in stronger than expected. Final wholesale inventories, preliminary non-farm productivity, and unit labor costs are lined up next. 

EUR 

The euro retreated to the dollar and yen but managed to advance against commodity currencies as risk appetite weakened. German and French trade balance came in slightly higher than expected to support ECB tapering speculations. Only the Italian industrial production report is due today and analysts are expecting to see a 0.2% uptick. 

GBP 

The pound was weighed down by risk aversion and Brexit jitters since there were no major reports to keep it supported. There are still no reports due from the UK economy today so it’s likely that market sentiment could push pound pairs around. 

CHF 

The franc gave up more ground to the dollar even after the Swiss jobless rate came in line with expectations at 3.2%. It managed to hold its ground against its other rivals since risk-off flows also tend to support the Swiss currency. There are no reports due from Switzerland today. 

JPY 

The yen was the biggest winner for the day as it benefitted from risk aversion stemming from the tension with North Korea. The hermit nation has threatened to launch a missile strike on the nearby U.S. territory of Guam. Japanese preliminary machine tool orders are up for release but all eyes and ears are on U.S. and North Korea. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD) 

The comdolls gave up a lot of ground as risk aversion returned to the markets. Traders are also pricing in downbeat expectations for the RBNZ decision as hiring and inflation have been weak for the past quarter. Australia reported a 1.2% drop in Westpac consumer sentiment data while Chinese CPI fell short of estimates at 1.4% versus 1.5%. The API reported another large draw in crude oil stockpiles so traders are waiting to see if the EIA report will follow suit. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way