USD

The US dollar was wiped out yesterday when the prepared text of Janet Yellen’s speech was released. The transcript revealed what many were expecting, that Yellen would likely keep stimulus in place until the economy is able to show a significant recovery. 

In particular, she noted that the improvement in labor and inflation is still far from reaching its potential. She is set to give this testimony in front of the Senate Banking Committee today and she will be interviewed there as well. Her responses to economic questions and her plans for monetary policy could determine how the dollar will trade today. 

EUR

The euro recovered to the dollar despite the downbeat remarks from several ECB officials. Some have noted the slow progress in the economy and the central bank’s openness to negative deposit rates, driving the shared currency lower in the London session. However, dollar weakness was the main theme for the US session, allowing EUR/USD to recover above 1.3400. Euro zone GDP figures from the region’s largest economies are up for release today and stronger than expected results might keep the euro afloat. 

GBP

The pound got a strong boost from better than expected jobs data, as the claimant count change printed a 41.7K decline. The jobless rate improved from 7.7% to 7.6%, reflecting a continuous rebound in hiring for the UK economy. The BOE inflation report also provided support for the pound when the central bank policymakers predicted that the UK will reach its employment targets earlier than initially projected. For today, UK retail sales are up for release and a flat figure is projected to follow the previous 0.6% uptick. 

CHF

The franc regained ground against the dollar and fell deeper below the .9200 handle when the US released the transcript of Yellen’s upcoming speech. There were no reports released from Switzerland then, as USD/CHF’s move was mostly a result of dollar weakness. Swiss PPI is up for release and a 0.3% uptick in producer prices is eyed. 

JPY

The yen continued to lose to its major counterparts in yesterday’s trading, as the Nikkei stock index posted gains. Data released from Japan earlier today came in better than expected, with the preliminary GDP reading showing a 0.5% uptick. The revised industrial production report is due today but this isn’t likely to cause waves among yen pairs, as their behavior could hinge on the performance of Asian markets again. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls took advantage of dollar weakness in yesterday’s trading, as AUD/USD, USD/CAD, and NZD/USD bounced off key levels. New Zealand retail sales was weaker than expected as the headline figure showed a 0.3% uptick instead of the 0.9% estimated increase while the core figure showed a 0.1% decline. Canadian trade balance is up for release later today and a smaller deficit is expected. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way