USD

The US dollar had relatively quiet time for the most part of the US session as officials sought to calm fears of a trade war.

However, the selling resumed when economic adviser Gary Cohn announced his resignation, which would likely leave stronger protectionist sentiment in the White House, which would prove bearish for the dollar. Medium-tier data from the US has also been downbeat. Only the US Beige Book is due today.

EUR

The euro continued to advance against most of its counterparts as commodity currencies were on shaky footing and another dollar selloff ensued. The region’s retail PMI improved from 50.8 to 52.3 to reflect stronger expansion. French trade balance and the region’s revised GDP are due today.

GBP

The pound also managed to recoup some of its earlier losses and was able to rake in more gains to commodity currencies. There were no major reports out of the UK yesterday and PM May’s recent speech on Brexit has been somewhat reassuring, allowing sterling to regain some ground.  

CHF

The franc was off to a weak start as risk appetite returned in the earlier sessions before the rallies resumed later on. Dollar weakness and risk aversion returned to the markets on Cohn’s resignation, reviving gains for the lower-yielding currency. Swiss CPI was stronger than expected with a 0.4% gain versus the estimated 0.3% uptick and the earlier 0.1% dip. SNB foreign currency reserves data is due next.

JPY

The yen was returning some of its recent wins as risk appetite appeared to be improving, but it soon resumed the climb when the dollar lost ground on Cohn’s announcement. Only the leading indicators report is due today, so the yen could continue to take cues from sentiment.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls had a bit of reprieve from their declines in the earlier sessions but the slump resumed as trade war fears escalated on Cohn’s resignation. Australia’s current account balance and retail sales fell short of estimates but the RBA kept rates on hold at 1.50% as expected. The Loonie took another huge hit on NAFTA concerns. New Zealand reported another fall in dairy prices during the GDT auction while Australia printed a weaker 0.4% GDP reading versus the 0.5% consensus. The BOC statement is coming up next, just after the release of Canada’s trade balance and labor productivity report.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way