Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Aug 12, 2016)

Medium-tier US data beat expectations, as the initial jobless claims came in at 266K versus the 272K forecast while import prices rose 0.1% instead of printing the projected 0.2% drop. US retail sales are up for release today, with analysts expecting to see a 0.4% increase in the headline figure and a 0.2% uptick for the core figure. PPI and preliminary UoM consumer sentiment data are also lined up. 

EUR

The euro was unable to hold on to most of its recent gains since there were no major reports from the euro zone. Today has the preliminary GDP readings from its top economies such as Germany and Italy, as well as the GDP reading for the entire region. The German economy is expected to have grown by 0.3% in Q2 while the euro zone could chalk up the same GDP figure. 

GBP  

The pound was still one of the weaker performers for the day, as there were no reports out of the UK economy to give it a boost. Only the UK construction output figure is lined up for today and a 0.9% rebound is expected to follow the previous 2.1% slide.

CHF

The franc returned some of its recent wins as risk appetite seemed to improve earlier in the day. There were no reports out of Switzerland then and none are due today, which suggests that sentiment could stay the bigger driver of price action. 

JPY

The yen struggled to hold on to its recent gains, particularly to the US dollar, as Japanese banks were closed on a holiday yesterday. There are no reports due from Japan today but it seems as though the downbeat data from China might have revived risk aversion in the Asian markets. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls had a mixed performance, as the Loonie was able to benefit from crude oil gains while the Aussie and Kiwi slid lower. The Kiwi barely drew support from upbeat quarterly retail sales data as traders are focused on what the RBNZ might do next in terms of driving the currency down. As for the Aussie, downbeat industrial production, retail sales, and fixed asset investment figures from China could likely weigh on Australia's export activity later on.  

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way