Forex Major Currencies Outlook (August 20, 2013)

This is perhaps because most market participants aren’t willing to keep their trades open ahead of the major market catalysts from the US this week, and these are the FOMC meeting minutes due tomorrow and the Jackson Hole Symposium scheduled to start on Thursday. In addition, rising bond yields is adding pressure for the Fed to push through with its Septaper plans. There were no reports released from the US yesterday. 

EUR

There were no reports released from the euro zone yesterday and there are none due today. With that, EUR/USD could stay within its current range or stay below the resistance at 1.3400 since there are no major catalysts for a strong break in either direction. Take note though that there is a bit of political tension brewing in the region, as Merkel is up for re-election. Although she is likely to hold on to her position as confidence in her leadership and reforms stays strong, the uncertainty could weigh on the euro in the coming trading days. 

GBP

The pound was one of the stronger currencies in recent trading hours, with GBP/USD managing to make new highs and hold on to the 1.5650 area. Strong UK fundamentals are mostly responsible for keeping this pair afloat, as the country printed stellar jobs and spending figures last week. For this week, the main event risk for pound pairs is the release of the UK revised GDP figures later on in the week. 

CHF

The franc was stuck in consolidation once more as neither Switzerland nor the US printed any economic data recently. There are also no major reports due from Switzerland today, which means that USD/CHF could continue with its sideways movement. 

JPY

Yen weakness is still pretty evident across the charts, although the selloff was a bit more muted recently. In fact, the yen was able to rebound against the Australian dollar in today’s early Asian session. Japanese trade balance printed weaker than expected results while the all industries activity index is slated to show a downturn for the recent month. 

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

Mixed performance was seen among the commodity currencies, as AUD/USD returned most of its recent gains and NZD/USD was unable to make headway past .8100. USD/CAD is still sitting above the rising trend line on its daily chart, although rising oil prices are allowing the Loonie to hold on to its current levels near 1.0300. RBA minutes were released earlier today and revealed that the Australian central bank is still disappointed with Australia’s economic performance and could be ready to ease once more.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way