Forex Major Currencies Outlook (July 12, 2013)

. There were no major reports released from the US yesterday, only the initial jobless claims which showed a higher than expected increase in first-time claimants. However, analysts noted that this might just be an effect of the Fourth of July holiday. For today, the PPI and UoM consumer sentiment figures are due, and upbeat figures could renew demand for the US dollar. 

EUR 

There were no red flags on the euro zone’s calendar in yesterday’s trading, allowing the euro to regain ground against the US dollar. There are no major reports again today, except perhaps for the euro zone industrial production release. This is expected to show a 0.2% downtick after increasing by 0.4% last month. 

GBP 

The pound was one of the better performing currencies in yesterday’s trading as it managed to make a strong recovery against the US dollar. There were no reports released from the UK, but the country is set to print its CB leading index today. A 0.2% increase was seen last time and another increase could help lift the pound higher against its counterparts. 

CHF

The Swiss franc continued to gain against the Greenback in yesterday’s trading, despite the lack of data from Switzerland. The Swiss economic schedule is empty again for today, which suggests that the franc might be able to benefit from dollar weakness if it persists until the end of the week. 

JPY 

The yen was mostly stuck in consolidation for yesterday as there were no major reports released from Japan. The BOJ statement turned out to be a non-event as Kuroda didn’t announce anything special for their monetary policy. Only the revised industrial production report and BOJ monthly report are due from Japan today. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD) 

The Aussie and Kiwi suffered huge losses against the dollar in yesterday’s trading as weaknesses in China continued to dampen sentiment for commodity-dependent nations. Australia’s jobs report printed better than expected results of 10.3K instead of the mere 0.3K increase expected. However, its home loans report missed the mark and showed a 1.8% rise instead of the estimated 2.3% growth. No other reports are due from the comdoll economies today. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way