Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Mar 08, 2016)

FOMC officials Fischer and Brainard highlighted the pickup in inflation seen recently, citing that the outlook seems positive. However, the labor market conditions showed a drop from -0.8 to -2.4 to indicate weaker prospects, possibly due to falling wages. Only the NFIB small business index is due from the US today.

EUR

The euro managed a quick recovery in recent trading sessions, even though data from the region was weak. The Sentix investor confidence index fell from 6.0 to 5.5 instead of rising to the projected 8.8 figure. German industrial production data is due today and a 0.6% rebound is eyed.

GBP

The pound continued to advance against most of its forex rivals, as Brexit fears eased. There were no major reports out of the UK yesterday and none are due today, although BOE Governor Carney's speech could bring volatility to pound pairs.

CHF

The franc took advantage of dollar weakness but was no match to euro strength yesterday. Swiss foreign currency reserves fell from 575B CHF to 571B CHF, indicating no evidence of currency intervention. The Swiss jobless rate is due today and a rise from 3.4% to 3.5% is eyed.

JPY

The yen regained some ground against its forex counterparts when the Japanese GDP reading was upgraded to show a smaller 0.3% contraction from the initially reported 0.4% drop in growth. Consumer confidence data and the Economy Watchers sentiment index are up for release next.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The Loonie continued to rally on the heels of rising crude oil prices, as the EIA projected a decline in production for April. However, the Kiwi and Aussie had to retreat earlier today when the Chinese trade balance missed expectations. The report showed a smaller surplus of 210B USD versus the projected 339B USD figure.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way