USD

The US dollar had a mixed performance in yesterday’s trading as it lost a bit of ground to the euro but made headway against the pound and the yen. 

There were no major reports released from the US economy then but the return of traders from their Veterans’ Day holiday was enough to bring strong moves back in the charts. Only the 10-year bond auction and Federal budget release are scheduled from the U.S. today so dollar pairs could continue to react to currency-specific events. 

EUR

The euro was able to make headway against the dollar and the yen in yesterday’s trading, despite the recent ECB interest rate cut. Optimistic estimates for the upcoming GDP releases were enough to provide support for the shared currency, as there were no major reports released yesterday. For today, euro zone industrial production data is due and a 0.2% decline is expected. 

GBP

The pound gave up a lot of ground to its major counterparts in yesterday’s trading when the UK CPI figure came in much weaker than expected. Analysts projected a decline from 2.7% to 2.5% but the actual figure landed at 2.2%, indicating that the BOE could still have room to ease if needed. Claimant count change data is due today and a 33.2K decline in the number of those claiming jobless benefits is expected. The jobless rate is estimated to improve from 7.7% to 7.6%, which might provide support for the pound. 

CHF

The franc managed to put up a decent fight against the dollar, keeping USD/CHF still below the .9200 major psychological resistance. There were no reports released from Switzerland yesterday and there are none due today, which suggests that USD/CHF might hover around the .9200 handle until the next big catalyst comes along. 

JPY

The yen gave up most of its recent gains to its major counterparts yesterday when the Nikkei stock index closed positive. Data from Japan was also weaker than expected, with consumer confidence declining and the tertiary industry activity showing a 0.2% drop. For today, core machinery orders printed a weaker than expected figure of -2.1% versus the estimate of a 1.8% drop, which might keep weighing on the yen for the rest of the day. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls lost ground yesterday even though there wasn’t much in terms of economic data. Updates from China’s 3rd Plenum seemed to disappoint traders, as the government focused on land reforms and social security changes instead of the aggressive plans to boost economic growth. Australia’s wage price index came in weaker than expected today and this might keep weighing the Aussie down. Later on, New Zealand will print its quarterly retail sales figures and possibly show weaker spending. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way