USD

The US dollar marked its second day of losses against most of its forex rivals, despite better than expected data from the US economy. 

JOLTS job openings showed a gain from an upgraded 5.11M to 5.38M, outpacing the consensus at 5.03M, while the NFIB small business index improved from 96.9 to 98.3. There are no major reports lined up from the US economy today, leaving traders to position ahead of Thursday’s retail sales release.

EUR

The euro initially sold off but was able to recover quickly, even though there were no major reports out of the region. As it turns out, the Greek government submitted a new reform plan but this was dismissed as unfeasible and not credible by its creditors. French and Italian industrial production numbers are up for release today and these might give the shared currency a boost if the actual readings come in strong.

GBP

The pound managed to recover against most of its counterparts, thanks to a strong trade balance report from the UK. The deficit narrowed to 8.6 billion GBP from the previous 10.7 billion GBP shortfall, reflecting a pickup in exports. UK manufacturing and industrial production figures are lined up for today, along with a speech from BOE Governor Carney. 

CHF

The franc was mostly stronger in recent trading after Switzerland reported better than expected CPI data. The reading showed a 0.2% gain, higher than the projected 0.1% uptick and enough to make up for the previous month’s 0.2% decline. The Swiss jobless rate was unchanged at 3.3%. There are no reports due from Switzerland today.

JPY

The yen struggled to hold on to its recent gains after Japan reported a dip in its consumer confidence index from 41.5 to 41.4 instead of the projected improvement to 41.9. Earlier today, the core machinery orders report showed a stronger than expected 3.8% increase versus the projected 2.0% drop and the previous 2.9% increase. Meanwhile, producer prices recorded another 2.1% slide as expected.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls struggled to hold on to their current levels, even though Australia printed a couple of stronger than expected reports. The NAB business confidence index improved from 3 to 7 while home loans picked up by 1.0% instead of falling by an estimated 1.8%. However, China released weaker than expected CPI and PPI readings, spurring talks of another round of easing from the PBOC. Earlier today, Australia showed a 6.9% slump in its Westpac consumer confidence index. Later on, the RBNZ is set to make its interest rate decision and a potential rate cut could keep the Kiwi weak.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way