USD

The US dollar barely showed any directional moves yesterday as traders didn’t seem to be buying the upgrades in non-farm productivity and unit labor costs.

The former was upgraded from a 1.0% decline to just a 0.6% drop while the latter was revised from 4.1% to 4.5% to reflect stronger upside wage pressure. Only the JOLTS job openings and crude oil inventories are due from the US today.

EUR

The euro was stuck in consolidation to the dollar but it gave up ground to the commodity currencies and pound. Euro zone GDP was upgraded from 0.5% to 0.6%, allowing the currency to advance against the yen. There are no major reports due from the region today. 

GBP

The pound had a volatile run, as it spiked up against its counterparts during the late Asian session but retreated just as quickly. Halifax HPI showed a stronger than expected 0.6% gain but the rally was likely caused by some poll results showing a lead in favor of the “stay” vote. UK manufacturing production data is due today and a flat reading is eyed. 

CHF

The franc carried on with its rally against the US dollar despite the increase in foreign currency reserves of the SNB. Swiss CPI is due today and a 0.2% uptick in price levels is eyed to follow the previous 0.3% gain.  

JPY

The yen returned some of its recent wins earlier in the day as traders banked on risk appetite. Data from Japan came in mostly in line with expectations today, with the exception of the current account balance which saw a smaller surplus. The Economy Watchers Sentiment index is up for release next. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were the strongest in the pack yesterday, thanks to rising oil prices. The Loonie even shrugged off the Ivey PMI decline from 53.1 to 49.4 as WTI crude oil climbed above the $50/barrel level. Chinese trade balance numbers are due next, likely affecting Aussie and Kiwi price action ahead of the RBNZ rate statement. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way