The US dollar is mixed against a basket of currencies on Thursday, attempting to find direction on economic data. The greenback has been trading based on inflation numbers, mortgage loans, and weekly jobless claims, but data may not affect the buck until the US and China officially announce a new trade agreement.
The euro today extended its rally against the US dollar for the fourth consecutive session driven by positive eurozone releases. The EUR/USD’s rally was also boosted by the release of mixed US data and the improved market risk sentiment amid Brexit hopes.
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 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 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 euro was trading mixed today, falling against some majors, including the US dollar and the Great Britain pound, but rising versus safe haven currencies. Macroeconomic data in the eurozone was mostly poor and put downward pressure on the currency.
The Canadian dollar rose against its US counterpart today due to the mixed US nonfarm payrolls. The loonie gained on other most-traded rivals as well, most likely thanks to the strong rally of crude oil prices. Domestic macroeconomic data did not help the currency, being rather underwhelming.
The Australian dollar fell against its major peers today after the disappointing manufacturing report from China, Australia’s biggest trading partner. Macroeconomic data in Australia itself was decent, but that did not help the currency.
The Japanese yen rose a bit during Monday’s quiet trading. With no major events or macroeconomic releases, markets were rather directionless today, though the rest of the week promises to be much more eventful.
