USD
The US dollar got back on its feet in recent trading sessions, advancing to the European currencies and Japanese yen.
It gave up some ground to the Aussie and Loonie but also rallied against the Kiwi after the RBNZ statement. There were no reports out of the US economy yesterday, leaving it to act mostly as a counter currency. For today, initial jobless claims and natural gas storage data are lined up.
EUR
The euro resumed its slump against most of its counterparts as there were no reports from the euro zone to prop it up. Traders are probably positioning ahead of today’s ECB statement as well, with Draghi expected to announce a large expansion to their current quantitative easing program. Another deposit rate cut deeper into negative territory is also expected.
GBP
The pound struggled to hold on to its recent gains as UK data came in mixed. Manufacturing production showed a stronger than expected 0.7% gain versus the projected 0.2% uptick while industrial production showed a weaker than expected 0.3% gain. There are no reports lined up from the UK economy today.
CHF
The franc was stuck in consolidation as traders are also awaiting the ECB statement. Although SNB head Jordan admitted that deposit rates can only go so low, market watchers are still wary of currency intervention in case the franc appreciates too much.
JPY
The yen regained ground against the higher-yielding currencies but weakened to the dollar. Japan’s preliminary machine tool orders showed a sharper 22.6% decline compared to the previous 17.2% drop, reflecting weaker business conditions. There are no reports lined up from Japan today.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The Loonie drew support from a relatively optimistic BOC statement and their decision to keep rates unchanged. Meanwhile, the RBNZ decided to cut interest rates by 0.25%, pushing the Kiwi much lower against its peers. The Aussie was able to get a boost from upbeat Chinese CPI, which jumped from 1.8% to 2.3% instead of holding steady as expected.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
