USD

Data from the US economy came in mixed today, as the initial jobless claims report posted a downside surprise of 282K in claimants while import prices indicated a smaller than expected 0.4% drop versus the projected 0.8% decline.

For today, the retail sales report is up for release and the headline figure is slated to show a 0.2% gain while the core figure could show a 0.3% increase.

EUR

The euro managed to resume its climb in recent trading sessions, even though data from the region came in mixed. French non-farm payrolls and CPI numbers fell short of expectations but the industrial production report surprised to the upside. More medium-tier reports such as German final CPI and Italian industrial production data are due next.

GBP

The pound managed to breathe a sigh of relief after the BOE maintained its cautious stance instead of shifting to a more dovish one. The central bank kept rates and asset purchases at their current levels while one policymaker still voted to hike rates. UK construction output and consumer inflation expectations are due next.

CHF

The franc was also able to regain ground after the SNB interest rate decision since the central bank refrained from lowering deposit rates or intervening in the forex market for now. Still, SNB head Jordan reiterated that the franc is significantly overvalued and that they have enough policy options left. There are no reports due from the Swiss economy today.

JPY

The yen gave up some ground in recent trading sessions as commodity prices recovered and risk appetite had a bit of a rebound. Data from Japan came in mixed, as the BSI manufacturing index fell short of expectations but the PPI improved from -3.8% to -3.6%. There are no reports due from Japan today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The Aussie got a break from its tumble when Australia printed an incredibly strong jobs report. The economy added 71.4K jobs in November instead of posting the projected 10K in losses. However, the reliability of the report has been questioned for quite some time so the gains weren’t sustained. No other reports are due from the commodity currencies today. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way