Forex Major Currencies Outlook (July 17, 2015)

Data from the US economy came in mixed, with the initial jobless claims coming in line with expectations and the Philly Fed index falling short of consensus. The reading fell from 15.2 to 5.7, worse than the projected drop to 11.9. For today, US CPI figures are due and the headline figure could show a 0.3% increase while the core figure could print a 0.2% gain.

EUR

The euro resumed its slide to its forex rivals, despite the approval of Greece’s reform package from the parliament. There are still a few hurdles for the country to clear before securing the next set of bailout funds so the next days could still be mired in uncertainty. Data from the euro zone came in line with expectations, as the final CPI readings did not undergo revisions. There are no reports due from the euro zone today.

GBP

The pound managed to advance against most of its forex counterparts after BOE Governor Carney reiterated their hawkish bias. In the BOE Inflation Report earlier in the week, he mentioned that the point at which they will hike rates is moving closer. The UK CB leading index showed a 0.4% decline and a downward revision in their previous release. There are no reports due from the UK today.

CHF

The franc gave up ground in recent trading sessions since the Swiss retail sales report turned out to be a huge disappointment. The figure showed a 1.8% annualized decline, much worse than the projected 1.9% increase and the previous 1.6% gain. There are no reports due from the economy today.

JPY

The yen gave up some of its recent wins from the risk-off market environment, as sentiment appeared to improve in the latter trading sessions. There have been no reports released from Japan then and none are due today, suggesting that risk flows could continue to push yen pairs around.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls were still on weak ground yesterday, as the BOC rate cut and speculations of an RBNZ rate cut for next week weighed on the Loonie and Kiwi. The Aussie enjoyed a bit more support, thanks to improved MI inflation expectations and a pickup in the CB leading index. Canadian CPI data are due today and the headline figure could show a 0.2% uptick while the core figure could print a 0.1% dip.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way