USD

Despite the thinner trading conditions during the US holiday, the dollar was still able to stay supported from last week’s strong NFP release. EUR/USD retraced to the 1.3400 handle and consolidated there while USD/JPY pushed for more gains. There’s still not much in the way of US economic data for today so it could be all about consolidation once again, unless talks of a December taper push the dollar much higher.

EUR

The euro is stuck around the 1.3400 handle for now, as traders await for more direction from euro zone data. Unfortunately, only a couple of medium-tier data from Germany is due and these aren’t likely to push the euro in a general direction. Be mindful of risk sentiment and additional updates from the euro region when trading euro pairs today.

GBP

The pound is still putting up a good fight against the US dollar for now, as it struggles to stay above the 1.5950 mark. UK CPI figures are up for release later today and weaker inflation of 2.5% versus the previous 2.7% is eyed. Other inflation reports are also due, which might provide clues on future inflation and potential monetary policy adjustments.

CHF

The Swiss franc was able to recover some of its losses to the dollar yesterday but it seems that more weakness is in the cards for today. The pair is still holding above the .9200 major psychological level. There are no reports due from Switzerland today so it could be all about risk sentiment driving USD/CHF today.

JPY

The yen gave up some ground to its counterparts today when data from Japan was weaker than expected. The tertiary industry index showed a drop of 0.2% versus the projected 0.2% uptick while consumer confidence fell to 41.2, reflecting lower optimism. The Nikkei also closed higher for the day, which suggests that the positively correlated USD/JPY could go for more gains.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were weaker in Asian trading today as China showed signs of bank tightening. In addition, the higher-yielding currencies saw limited buying potential as many worried that a Fed taper could undo most of the progress made in terms of export demand. Australian business confidence posted a decline from 12 to 5, lending further weakness to Aussie pairs.

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way