USD

The US dollar ended the previous week on a strong note, as it regained ground against its forex counterparts.

Data from the US came in stronger than expected on Friday, with the UoM preliminary consumer sentiment index climbing from 90.7 to 94.6, reflecting a pickup in optimism and a potential acceleration in consumer spending. Industrial production and capacity utilization reports are up for release today and another set of strong data could spur demand for the dollar.

EUR

The euro had trouble sustaining its climb last week, following reports that the IMF team pulled out of debt talks and refused to pursue further negotiations from the Greek government. Data from the euro zone was mixed, as Germany printed a stronger than expected wholesale price index while the euro zone’s industrial production reading of 0.1% fell short of consensus. Today ECB Governor Draghi is set to give a testimony and his remarks might push euro pairs around.

GBP

Data from the UK was weaker than expected at the end of the week, as construction output reportedly slipped 0.8% instead of showing the projected 0.1% uptick. However, the pound was still able to retain its gains thanks to upbeat remarks from BOE MPC member McCafferty in his testimony that day. For today, only the Rightmove HPI is up for release today and the report printed a 3.0% gain, better than the previous 0.1% decline.

CHF

The franc was able to hold on to its recent gains, as there were no reports lined up from Switzerland then. Today the Swiss PPI and retail sales reports are up for release, with a 0.1% uptick in producer prices expected and a 2.8% annualized decline in retail sales likely. Stronger than expected data could allow the franc to keep advancing, as this seems to be the better safe-haven alternative among European currencies.

JPY

The yen gave up its recent wins since data from Japan came mixed on Friday. The industrial production report was revised up from 1.0% to 1.2% while the tertiary industry activity index marked a 0.2% decline instead of the projected 0.4% uptick. There are no reports lined up from Japan today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were mostly in a weak spot on Friday, with the Kiwi still being weighed down by the RBNZ rate cut earlier on in the week. There have been no reports released from the comdoll economies then while today has the Canadian manufacturing sales report on tap.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way