USD

Although the US dollar had a volatile trading day, it was practically range-bound against most of its major forex counterparts.

Data from the US was stronger than expected, as both the flash manufacturing PMI and existing home sales beat expectations. Flash manufacturing PMI for June climbed from 56.4 to 57.5 instead of dipping to 56.1 while existing home sales improved from 4.66M to 4.89M. US consumer confidence and new home sales data are up for release today, with similar improvements expected.

EUR

The euro suffered a brief selloff to its major forex rivals when German and French PMI readings from the manufacturing and services industries came in short of expectations. France reported deeper contractions in its manufacturing and services sectors while German showed a slower expansion. Overall, euro zone manufacturing and services PMIs showed slowdowns and suggested that the ECB might consider further easing. German Ifo business climate data is due today.

GBP

The pound made a quick bounce in recent trading despite the lack of major reports from the UK economy. The BOE inflation report hearings are scheduled for today and this might cause volatility among pound pairs, as the event could shed light on policymakers’ assessment of the economy. Hawkish remarks in support of a rate hike this year could lead to a fresh wave of rallies for the pound.

CHF

The franc lost a bit of ground in recent trading, owing mostly to weakness in euro zone data. There have been no reports released from Switzerland, yet German and French PMI readings have fallen short of expectations and led to franc selling. There are still no reports due from Switzerland today, which suggests that the franc could follow in the euro’s footsteps.

JPY

The yen continued to lose ground to higher-yielders as risk appetite picked up but still managed to end higher against the lower-yielding US dollar. There have been no reports released from Japan yesterday and none are due today, which suggests that the currency might stay sensitive to market sentiment.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls gained ground as risk sentiment continued to improve for the trading day. The improvement in the Chinese HSBC flash manufacturing PMI has been mostly responsible for giving support to the commodity currencies, as there have been no reports released from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand so far. There are still no reports lined up from these countries for the rest of the day.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way