Forex Major Currencies Outlook (Apr 17, 2015)

Initial jobless claims came in at 294K, higher than the estimated 284K figure and the previous 282K reading. Building permits fell from 1.10M to 1.04M instead of landing at the estimated 1.08M reading while housing starts ticked up from 0.91M to 0.93M, short of the projected 1.05M figure. Preliminary US consumer sentiment data is up for release today and the reading might climb from 93.0 to 93.8.

EUR

The euro managed to advance against the dollar and yen but was still in a weak spot to the rest of its forex rivals. There have been no major reports out of the euro zone yesterday while today has the current account balance and final CPI readings due. Stronger than expected data could reinforce Draghi’s view that a sustained recovery is taking hold, which could support the shared currency until the end of the week.

GBP

The pound sold off to most of its forex counterparts but was able to take advantage of dollar and yen weakness. Traders seem to be pricing in weaker than expected data for today’s upcoming jobs release, which could show a 29.1K decline in claimants. This would be a weaker reading compared to the previous 31K reduction. Still, the jobless rate is slated to improve from 5.7% to 5.6% for March.

CHF

The franc chalked up another winning day, as Swiss PPI came in stronger than expected. Producer prices chalked up a 0.2% gain, higher than the projected 0.1% uptick and better than the previous 1.4% decline. Swiss retail sales are up for release today and analysts are expecting to see a 0.7% rebound.

JPY

The yen gave up a lot of ground to most of its forex rivals in yesterday’s trading sessions but was able to hold on to its recent wins to the dollar. Japanese consumer confidence data is up for release today and a climb from 40.7 to 41.4 is expected, which might be enough for the yen to recover.

Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD)

The comdolls carried on with their rallies in yesterday’s trading sessions, as risk appetite somewhat improved. Stronger than expected jobs data from Australia were mostly responsible for the gains, as the economy added 37.7K jobs in March and brought the jobless rate down to 6.1%. Canada could take center stage today with its retail sales and inflation figures, with stronger than expected figures likely to push the Loonie higher.

By Kate Curtis from Trader's Way