USD

The US dollar gained some support from mostly stronger than expected economic reports. 

In particular, its Q1 GDP reading was upgraded from 0.7% to 1.2% versus the 0.9% consensus, signaling that the “slowdown” in the period wasn’t all that worrisome. Durable goods orders posted a 0.7% drop versus the projected 1.4% slide but the core version disappointed with a 0.4% drop instead of the estimated 0.4% uptick. 

EUR

There were no economic reports released from the euro zone economies on Friday while today has only M3 money supply and private loans data. ECB head Draghi also has a testimony lined up and a less cautious tone than usual could mean more support for the shared currency. 

GBP

There were also no major reports out of the UK on Friday but traders seem to be wary of the upcoming snap elections and the possibility that May could lose. UK banks are closed for the holiday today so liquidity could be lower and there are no reports due. 

CHF

The franc had a mixed performance as it mostly reacted to currency-specific events. There were no reports printed out of Switzerland on Friday and none are due today so overall market sentiment could push franc pairs around and the lack of any big catalysts could keep consolidation in play.

JPY

The yen barely reacted to mixed inflation reports from Japan. The national core CPI ticked 0.3% higher versus the projected 0.4% uptick while the Tokyo core CPI advanced from -0.1% to 0.1% instead of staying flat. There are no reports due from the Japanese economy next so market sentiment could be the main driver of yen pairs’ action. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls regained some ground as traders priced in the longer-term impact of the OPEC agreement to extend their output deal by nine months. Chinese banks are closed for the holiday today so liquidity could be lower than usual and there are no reports due from the comdoll economies 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way