Forex Major Currencies Outlook (July 20, 2015)

Headline CPI came in line with expectations of a 0.3% gain while the core version of the report met the consensus of a 0.2% uptick. Building permits and housing starts both came in stronger than expected but the UoM consumer sentiment figure fell short at 93.3 versus the projected 96.0 figure. There are no reports due from the US economy today, leaving risk sentiment at the helm.

EUR

The euro continued to slide against most of its forex rivals even though the German parliament gave the green light for the Greek bailout program. Increased austerity could keep the country in the euro zone for the time being but this might not be enough to eliminate its debt troubles. There were no reports from the euro zone then while today has only the German PPI and euro zone current account balance on tap.

GBP

The pound had a mixed performance on Friday, although it was mostly supported against its forex rivals due to the BOE’s relatively upbeat stance. Recall that Carney said that the point at which rates begin to increase is moving closer. There have been no reports from the UK on Friday and today only had the Rightmove HPI, which showed a mere 0.1% uptick compared to the previous 3.0% gain.

CHF

The franc was also in a weak spot, as traders weren’t too keen to buy up the Swiss currency for fear of central bank intervention. There have been no reports from Switzerland on Friday and none are due today, leaving euro zone events and risk sentiment as the main drivers of price action.

JPY

The yen was able to take advantage of the risk-off environment and the commodities selloff earlier today, even though banks are closed in observance of Marine Day. There are no reports due from Japan, which means that yen pairs might continue to react to commodity prices and overall sentiment.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls suffered a sharp selloff earlier today, as China’s gold reserves data indicated a smaller than expected share of the precious metal. This led to a sharp selloff for the commodity currencies, although the Kiwi managed to draw support from NZ Prime Minister John Key’s optimistic remarks on the economy. Last Friday, Canada printed a flat core CPI reading and a 0.2% increase in its headline CPI. Canadian wholesales sales data is due later today.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way