Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Apr 20, 2015)

There are no major reports lined up from the US this week, as traders could focus on market sentiment for direction. Last Friday, inflation figures came in line with expectations of 0.2% gains for the headline and core reading. Today, the US economic schedule is empty.

EUR

Greek debt troubles continued to weigh on the shared currency early in the week, as traders start to doubt that the country could secure its next set of funds and stay in the euro zone. As of the moment, government officials and creditors are refusing to give way, which opens up the odds of contagion in the euro region. German PPI and the Buba report are up for release today.

GBP

The pound managed to advance to the dollar but was still weaker compared to its other forex counterparts, as traders weren’t impressed by the latest jobs report. Hiring picked up by only 20.7K, lower than the estimated 29.1K increase, while the jobless rate improved to 5.6% as expected. Earlier today, the UK Rightmove HPI showed a 1.6% gain in house prices.

CHF

The franc continued to advance on Friday, albeit at a weaker pace. Swiss retail sales came in weaker than expected with a 2.7% slide instead of the estimated 0.7% uptick. There are no reports lined up from the Swiss economy today, leaving the franc sensitive to euro region developments.

JPY

The yen advanced to the dollar but gave up ground to its higher-yielding counterparts when risk appetite seemed to improve. Data from Japan was stronger than expected, as the consumer confidence index climbed from 40.7 to 41.7, reflecting stronger optimism. Earlier today, the tertiary industry index also showed a stronger than expected reading of 0.3% versus the estimated 0.6% drop.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls made a good rally on Friday, especially after Canada showed stronger than expected retail sales and inflation reports. Core retail sales surged by 2.0% while headline retail sales increased by 1.7%. Headline inflation showed a 0.7% uptick while the core CPI showed a 0.6% gain. Over the weekend, New Zealand reported a weaker than expected 0.3% decline in quarterly CPI versus estimates of a 0.2% dip. A speech by BOC Governor Poloz is scheduled today.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way