USD
The US dollar advanced against most of its peers on Friday, as the surprise rate cut by the Chinese central bank spurred a bit of risk aversion.
In addition, data from the US was better than expected since the flash manufacturing PMI climbed from 53.0 to 54.1 instead of falling to the projected 52.8 reading. For today, US new home sales data is due and a drop from 552K to 546K is eyed.
EUR
The euro took a break from its sharp selloff when the PBOC decided to ease monetary policy and ease some of the uncertainties in the global market. PMI readings from the euro zone were also mostly better than expected, with the manufacturing and services data from France beating analysts’ projections. The German Ifo business climate index is due today and a drop from 108.5 to 108.1 is eyed.
GBP
The pound held on to some of its wins despite the lack of top-tier data from the UK, as the reports released earlier in the week spelled positive prospects for the UK economy. Only the BBA mortgage approvals report and CBI industrial order expectations are up for release today.
CHF
The franc continued to drop against its peers, as traders speculated that any easing moves from the ECB would be accompanied by intervention from the SNB. There were no reports out of Switzerland on Friday and none are due today.
JPY
The yen had a mixed performance as it mostly reacted to market sentiment instead of establishing its own direction. The Japanese flash manufacturing PMI came in better than expected at 52.5, up from the previous 51.0 figure. There are no reports due from the Japanese economy today.
Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)
The comdolls initially sold off upon hearing more interest rate cuts from China but recovered strongly, as traders predicted that the easing moves might spur trade activity and boost commodity prices. Canadian CPI readings were weaker than expected, as the headline CPI showed a 0.2% decline while the core reading indicated a slower than expected 0.2% uptick. New Zealand’s trade balance is up for release in the next Asian session, with the deficit expected to narrow.
By Kate Curtis from Trader’s Way
