Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Oct 20, 2014)

Profit-taking off the short trades took place and it remains to be seen whether the recovery would take hold or not. Data from the US was in line with expectations, as building permits and housing starts showed a 1.02M figure. The dollar gapped higher against some of its major counterparts, particularly the euro and the yen, over the weekend. There are no major reports up for release from the US economy today, leaving market sentiment in the driver’s seat.

EUR

The euro resumed its weakness to most of its counterparts towards the end of last week, as the German central bank head spoke of economic reforms. Apart from that, there were no market-movers for the euro pairs on Friday while today has only a few medium-tier reports on tap. German PPI could show a 0.1% rebound in producer price levels while the euro zone current account balance is up for release. Weaker than expected data could push the euro lower against its forex counterparts once more.

GBP

 The pound struggled to hold its ground last Friday, as there were no major reports released from the UK economy. Earlier today, the Rightmove HPI marked a 2.6% gain house prices, stronger than the previous 0.9% uptick. There are no other reports up for release from the UK today, which suggests that pound pairs could also be driven by market sentiment.

CHF

 The franc was no match to dollar strength on Friday, as there were no reports to keep the currency afloat then. The calendar for Switzerland is still empty for today, which suggests that the Swiss currency could take its cue from the euro or from risk sentiment.

JPY

 The yen gave back some of its recent gains towards the end of last week, as traders booked profits off their short trades on the yen pairs. There were no reports released from Japan then and none are due today, suggesting that risk sentiment might be the primary driver of price action for yen pairs for today.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

 The comdolls were unable to recover to the dollar on Friday, although the Australian dollar put up a good fight and moved mostly sideways. In Canada, inflation reports showed stronger than expected results once more, with the headline CPI showing a 0.1% gain instead of staying flat and the core CPI marking a 0.2% increase. Canadian wholesale sales are up for release today and analysts are expecting to see a 0.2% rebound, which might be enough to keep the Loonie supported.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way