USD

The US dollar was able to chalk up a few gains against its forex counterparts in recent trading, even as banks were closed in celebration of Memorial Day. 

There have been no economic reports released from the US at the start of the week, leaving risk sentiment as the main driver of price action. For today, durable goods orders data are up for release and smaller gains are expected. Note though that previous readings have been upgraded to show a 0.3% increase in the core figure and a 4.7% gain in the headline figure. Analysts are expecting to see a 0.5% increase in the core figure and a 0.4% dip for the headline figure in April.

EUR

The euro was still in a weak spot against most of its forex rivals, as concerns about a Greek debt default weighed on the shared currency. There have been no reports released from the euro zone yesterday since banks were closed in celebration of Whit Monday. There are still no reports due from the region today, which suggests that Greek debt updates might push the shared currency around.

GBP

 The pound suffered another quick selloff at the start of the week, despite the lack of top-tier data from the UK. It seems that traders aren’t too happy about the downturn in price levels for the UK economy, as this could lead to a delay in a potential BOE rate hike. For today, the CBI realized sales report is due and an uptick from 12 to 18 is eyed.

CHF

 The franc continued its slide to most of its forex rivals, as there have been no reports released from Switzerland yesterday. Today has the employment level data on tap and a drop from 4.23M to 4.21M is expected, which might lead to more losses for the franc.

JPY

The yen lost ground to the dollar but was able to advance against its other forex rivals, thanks to the onset of risk aversion. Data from Japan has been better than expected yesterday, as the economy reported a smaller than expected trade deficit. Earlier today, the country reported a stronger than expected 0.7% gain in its SPPI, suggesting a potential pickup in inflation.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were generally weaker at the start of the week, as the selloff was buoyed by risk-off flows. There were no reports released from the comdoll economies then and none are due today, suggesting that risk sentiment could continue dictating price action.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way