Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Nov 22, 2017)

Data was actually stronger than expected as existing home sales rose from 5.37M to 5.48M. The FOMC minutes are due today before traders take off for the Thanksgiving holidays. 

EUR

The euro slid a bit lower to most of its peers as the prospect of another election in Germany was brought up. Over the weekend, Merkel failed to secure a coalition and a minority government could bring even more uncertainty. There were no reports out of the euro zone then while today has the region's consumer confidence index on tap. 

GBP

The pound tried to hold its ground as optimism over Brexit talks remained and the BOE Inflation Report hearings also gave the currency some support. Data was also upbeat with CBI industrial orders expectations jumping from -2 to +17 versus the consensus at +3. The Autumn Forecast statement is due next and traders are interested to find out how Brexit could factor in budget and outlook changes. 

CHF

The franc managed to hold on to some of its gains even though risk-taking was in play. The safe-haven currency appears to be taking the flows away from the euro as the shared currency reacts to German political uncertainty. Swiss trade balance was actually weaker than expected at a surplus of 2.33B CHF versus the estimated 3.21B CHF figure. There are no reports from the Swiss economy today. 

JPY 

The yen also raked in some gains away from the dollar but was mostly weaker to the higher-yielders. Japan's all industries activity index was weaker than expected with a 0.5% dip versus the estimated 0.4% decline. There are no reports due from Japan today so the yen could take its cue from market sentiment and bond yields once more. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The Kiwi gave up some ground after seeing yet another decline in GDT dairy prices but the losses were muted as traders realized that this was probably due to higher production. Data in Canada also turned out below expectations with a 1.2% slide in wholesale sales, preventing the Loonie from taking advantage of the pickup in crude oil. The API reported a larger draw in stockpiles than expected and the EIA report is due today. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way