Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Aug 17, 2017)

Building permits fell from 1.28M to 1.22M while housing starts declined from 1.21M to 1.16M. Meanwhile, the FOMC minutes revealed that policymakers are still reluctant to commit to a balance sheet runoff date and the fallout from Trump's handling of Charlottesville has weighed on fiscal policy speculations. Initial jobless claims, industrial production, and the Philly Fed index are lined up next. 

EUR 

Euro zone economic data simply came in line with expectations as Italy reported a 0.4% growth figure while the region chalked up a 0.6% expansion. Final CPI readings are due today but traders might be more interested to read the ECB minutes as many are hoping to see more clues on tapering. 

GBP 

The pound took a break from its slide upon seeing upbeat UK jobs data. The claimant count fell by 4.2K instead of indicating a 3.2K rise in joblessness for July while the June figure saw an upgrade. The average earnings index climbed to 2.1% while the earlier reading was upgraded to 1.9% and the jobless rate declined from 4.5% to 4.4%. Retail sales is due next and a 0.2% uptick is eyed. 

CHF 

The franc had a mixed run as it reacted mostly to country-specific events. There were no reports out of the Swiss economy yesterday and none are due today so market sentiment could still push franc pairs around. 

JPY 

The yen took advantage of dollar weakness but was still in a weak spot against its higher-yielding counterparts. Earlier today, Japan printed a stronger than expected trade surplus of 0.34T JPY versus the projected 0.20T JPY and the earlier 0.09T JPY reading. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD) 

The comdolls were able to rake in more gains, especially the Kiwi which got a boost from upbeat PPI data. Input prices surged 1.4% versus the 0.9% consensus while output prices rose 1.3% versus the projected 0.7% gain. Crude oil inventories fell by 8.9 million barrels, larger than the estimated draw of 3 million barrels to ease oversupply concerns. Australia also printed a stronger than expected 27.9K increase in hiring for July. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way