Forex News

The US dollar gained on most major currencies during the past trading week but fell against commodity currencies. The reason for that was optimism about Sino-US trade talks, which led to risk appetite on markets.

The British pound today rallied higher against the US dollar from the early European session following the release of upbeat UK retail sales data for January. The GBP/USD currency pair was trading in a see-saw fashion during the Asian session as investors remained indecisive regarding the Sterling.

The New Zealand dollar rallied today after falling earlier. Surprisingly, the rally started after the release of disappointing macroeconomic reports in China — New Zealand’s biggest trading partner. Domestic macroeconomic data, which was not that great as well, had smaller impact on the currency. Yet it was also puzzling, driving the kiwi slightly higher, not lower.

The Japanese yen rose earlier today amid risk aversion caused by apparent lack of progress in the Sino-US trade talks. By now, though, the currency trimmed its gains, erasing them against some peers completely. Japan’s macroeconomic data released during the trading session was in line with expectations.

The US dollar is weakening against a basket of currencies on Thursday as new data is souring economic outlooks. Retail, inflation, and even jobs impacted the greenback towards the end of the trading week, leaving investors concerned that a contraction is on the horizon.

The Canadian dollar declined against all other most-traded currencies today as poor macroeconomic data in Canada and the United States weighed on the loonie. The Canadian currency has trimmed its losses by now but still remained far below the opening level.

The euro today headed lower against the US dollar in the early European session before posting slight gains after the release of in-line eurozone Q4 GDP data. The EUR/USD currency pair later spiked higher following the release of disappointing US retail sales data for December.

The Swiss franc gained on most major currencies today, which was surprising considering risk appetite on markets and poor macroeconomic data in Switzerland.

The Australian dollar was trading strong at the beginning of the Thursday’s trading session, though it has retreated by now. The rally was a result of positive macroeconomic data in China — Australia’s biggest trading partner.

The Great Britain pound declined today, dragged down by poor performance of the housing market and Brexit worries. The currency fell versus all of its most-traded rivals, including the Japanese yen, which itself was soft.