USD
The US dollar had another mixed performance as there were no major reports to provide any direction.
Besides, US President Trump can’t seem to make up his mind if he wants a strong or weak dollar. Initial jobless claims and final wholesale inventories are up for release today but price action could hinge mostly on market sentiment.
EUR
The euro was in a weak spot against most of its peers as traders continued to price in the implications of Draghi’s downbeat views on monetary policy. There were no major reports out of the euro zone yesterday while today has the trade balance due. A wider surplus of 23.2 billion EUR is eyed.
GBP
The pound carried on with its climb for another day, boosted by the hawkish remarks from BOE official Forbes who said that higher inflation expectations could lead the central bank to consider hiking rates. There are no major reports due from the UK today so sterling could continue to benefit from this view unless other headlines pop up. BOE Governor Carney has a speech due.
CHF
The franc regained a bit of ground against its forex counterparts even though there were no major reports from the Swiss economy. The Swiss jobless rate is due today and no changes to the 3.3% reading is expected so market sentiment and currency-specific reports could push franc pairs around.
JPY
The yen resumed its rally against its higher-yielding rivals as risk aversion was present in the markets. Data from Japan came in mostly stronger than expected, led by the 6.7% jump in core machinery orders. Preliminary machine tool orders data is due next and another strong read could mean more support for the yen.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The Loonie was under some selling pressure on talks of a new border tax on Canadian imports to the US and after the US crude oil inventories report showed a larger buildup in stockpiles. The RBNZ kept rates on hold at 1.75% as expected but signaled some scope for cuts as they pushed their 2% inflation target date a couple of quarters later. RBA Governor Lowe has a speech coming up.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
