Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Mar 23, 2017)

Equities have been on the decline for the past few days as investors continue to doubt the administration's resolve, although economic data has been mostly in line with expectations. Initial jobless claims are due today, along with a speech by Yellen.

EUR

The euro was mostly weaker against its peers when news of a terror attack in London broke out. Euro zone current account balance turned out weaker than expected and there are no major reports due today so market sentiment could stay in play.

GBP

The pound got hit hard by reports of a terror attack in the Houses of Parliament towards the end of the London session. There have been no major reports out of the UK yesterday while today has the retail sales figure due. Weak wage growth combined with higher domestic inflation probably weighed on consumer spending but analysts are expecting to see a 0.4% rebound after the earlier 0.3% decline. 

CHF

The Swiss franc had a mixed performance as it reacted mostly to country-specific data and other headlines. The SNB Quarterly Bulletin was released but this didn't contain any surprises enough to move the franc. There are no major reports due from the Swiss economy today but SNB member Maechler has a speech lined up.

JPY

The yen was the big winner in recent trading sessions as it took advantage of risk-off flows and anti-dollar sentiment on concerns about the healthcare vote. There were no major reports out of Japan then and none are due today, but additional volatility is expected in the US session.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls lost a lot of ground on market jitters, both weighed by concerns ahead of the Obamacare vote and the risk aversion from the terror attack in London. The EIA report confirmed that stockpiles rose more than expected, keeping oil oversupply concerns in play. In New Zealand, the RBNZ kept rates on hold as expected but sounded less downbeat in brushing off the recent GDP disappointment and affirming that inflation could return to their target band in the medium-term.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way