USD

The US dollar had a mixed performance, as it resumed its rally against the commodity currencies but gave up ground to the euro and franc.

Fed official Evans reiterated that tightening should proceed at a gradual pace while the Beige Book noted that the inflation outlook is still grim. For today, initial jobless claims and a speech by FOMC member Bullard are due.

EUR

The euro rallied against most of its currency counterparts even though data from the region came in mixed. French CPI was stronger than expected at 0.2% versus the projected 0.1% uptick while the region’s industrial production reading fell short of expectations with a 0.7% decline versus the projected 0.2% dip. Italian industrial production and German WPI figures are due, but the bigger catalyst could be the ECB meeting minutes.

GBP

The pound continued to sell off against its peers despite the lack of top-tier data from the UK, as investors are probably pricing in expectations ahead of the BOE statement. The central bank is expected to reiterate their downbeat outlook, mostly due to the slump in oil prices and the slowdown in China. 

CHF

The franc took its cue from the euro and rebounded in recent trading sessions even though there were no actual reports out of Switzerland. There are still no reports up for release from the Swiss economy today.

JPY

The yen regained ground against its rivals after sliding slightly lower due to profit-taking and a pickup in risk appetite over the past few days. Data from Japan was weaker than expected, as core machinery orders fell by 14.4% while the PPI posted a sharper than expected 3.4% fall in producer prices. Preliminary machine tool orders data is still up for release.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls resumed their slide despite a smaller than expected increase in crude oil inventories and stronger than expected jobs data from Australia. Hiring fell by 0.1K in December, better than the projected 11K decline, while the previous reading enjoyed an upward revision. Even so, the Australian dollar was unable to gain much traction. There are no other reports lined up from the comdoll economies for the rest of the day.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way