The Japanese yen traded either flat or higher against other most-traded currencies today, but gains were nowhere near enough to reverse yesterday’s losses. Markets calmed down after a bout of fear caused by escalating tensions in the Middle East, limiting demand for safe-haven currencies.
The euro today rallied higher against the US dollar in the early European session following the release of upbeat German retail sales data and euro area PMIs. The EUR/USD currency pair later fell as the greenback rallied amid rising US-Iran tensions and the release of upbeat US PMI data by Markit Economics.
The Australian dollar logged gains against the majority of other most-traded currencies today. Market analysts explained gains of riskier commodity currencies by the rise of European stocks due to the preliminary trade agreement between the United States and China. Experts were skeptical, though, about the longevity of the gains as the US-China trade conflict is not over yet, and there are other reasons to worry, like the threat of hard Brexit and impeachment of US President Donald […]
The pound today rallied briefly against the US dollar before falling to its daily lows as traders continued to take profits from the post-election rally. The GBP/USD currency pair was also affected by the weak PMI data released by Markit Economics in the London session and Brexit optimism.
The euro today fell amid conflicting trade headlines as investors continued to wonder whether the US and China would seal a phase one deal any time soon. However, the EUR/USD currency pair rallied higher in the early American session after the latest US jobs data released by the ADP missed expectations by a wide margin.
The Japanese yen was flat against most of its major rivals amid conflicting reports about the probability of reaching a phase-one trade deal between the United States and China before the new US tariffs, scheduled to take effect on December 15, will kick in. Domestic macroeconomic data was relatively good but slightly worse than expected.
The Australian dollar was weak today due to uncertainty surrounding the US-China trade deal as well as the slower-than-expected economic growth in Australia. Losses were limited, though, thanks to the positive report from China, Australia’s biggest trading partner.
The Great Britain pound was the worst-performing major currency today, falling against all other most-traded rivals. The currency was heading to the biggest weekly loss in almost three weeks. The reason for the poor performance were extremely poor PMI figures, which made economists speculate that Britain’s economy will face a contraction in the fourth quarter of this year.
The euro today fell against the much stronger US dollar as investors reacted to mostly negative IHS Markit preliminary services PMI reports from across the eurozone. The EUR/USD currency pair today attempted to rally higher on positive French and German manufacturing PMIs, but the rally was short-lived due to the weak services PMIs.
The Japanese yen was generally strong today amid persisting concerns about the US-China trade negotiations. Macroeconomic data released in Japan over Friday’s session was in line with expectations.
