Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Feb 28, 2017)

Headline durable goods orders rose 1.8% versus the projected 1.6% rise while core durable goods orders fell 0.2% instead of increasing by 0.5%. US President Trump admitted that they're not ready to announce tax reform plans until a proposal to replace Obamacare is made but said that he will announce something on infrastructure and security spending in his speech in front of the joint sessions of Congress today. US preliminary GDP data is also due and an upgrade from 1.9% to 2.1% is eyed. 

EUR

The euro made a bit of a recovery against its peers when more polls indicated that Macron is advancing against Le Pen, thereby reducing odds of a Frexit. French consumer spending, CPI and GDP are lined up today and upbeat readings could mean more gains for the shared currency. In the meantime, headlines on Italy and Greece could also influence euro trading for the rest of the week.

GBP

The pound took some hits as Scottish referendum talks intensified. FM Sturgeon mentioned that they might call for a vote once the UK triggers Article 50 by March, as the nation actually voted to stay in the bloc during the EU referendum last year. There are no reports due from the UK today so Brexit talks in the House of Lords could also have an impact on pound price action.

CHF

The franc was mostly weaker against its peers but wound up advancing to its European rivals. There were no surprises in SNB member Zurbrugg's speech yesterday while there are no reports lined up from the Swiss economy today.

JPY

The Japanese yen returned some of its recent gains on profit-taking and a bit of improvement in dollar demand. Data from Japan came in mixed as the preliminary industrial production report showed a surprise 0.8% dip versus the projected 0.4% increase while the retail sales report printed a 1.0% rise versus the estimated 0.9% gain. Japanese housing starts data is due next and a slower gain of 3.3% compared to the earlier 3.9% reading is eyed.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls moved mostly sideways or in reaction to currency-specific events as there were no major market events yesterday. New Zealand printed a wider trade deficit of 285 million NZD from the earlier 36 million NZD shortfall. Underlying Canadian inflation figures are up for release and this should provide some clues on how the BOC statement might sound like later this week. 

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way