USD
The US dollar was in for a slow trading day, as banks were closed on Veterans’ Day and there were no top-tier reports released.
The preliminary UoM consumer sentiment index is due and a rise from 90.0 to 91.3 is eyed, with stronger than expected data likely to give the dollar an additional boost. Also lined up is a speech by Fed head Yellen.
EUR
The euro was still in a weak spot against its peers, although ECB officials appear undecided on what they want to do next with monetary policy. For some, the central bank doesn’t necessarily need to act in December and lowering deposit rates further might no longer be so effective. Others believe in the importance of keeping policy accommodative. German and French CPI are due today, along with euro zone production data.
GBP
The pound drew some support from the UK jobs data, even though most of the headline figures missed expectations. Claimant count rose by 3.3K in October, larger than the projected 1.6K gain in joblessness, while the average earnings index held steady at 3.0% instead of improving to 3.2%. Still, underlying long-term employment indicators showed some improvement. There are no reports due from the UK today.
CHF
The franc barely had any direction in recent trading sessions since there were no major reports out of Switzerland. There are still no reports due from the Swiss economy today so the franc could be pushed around by market sentiment.
JPY
Japanese data came in mixed earlier today, with core machinery orders posting a stronger than expected 7.5% gain versus the projected 3.3% rebound and the PPI showing a sharper 3.8% decline compared to the estimated 3.5% drop. No other reports are due from Japan today, keeping risk sentiment in play.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The Aussie got a strong boost from stronger than expected jobs data in today’s Asian session. The employment change figure showed a 58.6K increase in hiring versus the projected 14.8K gain, bringing the jobless rate down from 6.2% to 5.9%. There are no other reports due from the comdoll economies today.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
