The euro is trading at 1.1368 at the moment. The low has traded at 1.1349 while the high has traded at 1.1394. The euro remains range bound, with European economic data released earlier having little effect on initiating a breakout of the currency from the established range. The German Trade Balance was better than expected, registering 19.8 billion euros. In the meantime, the French Government Budget Balance saw the deficit grow wider than previously, with -25.6 billion euros recorded. The previous month reported a balance of -9.2 billion euros. Lastly, French Industrial Production was worse than expected, with -1.0% reported. This has been the extent of European data released today. The euro still appears to be vulnerable to the downside, as European Central Bank members hinted that they were prepared to inject more stimulus into the European economy if it was deemed necessary. The chances of this happening increase with continued disappointing economic data coming from the region. Next week will see the release of critical European inflation data, which could move the ECB to consider adding stimulus if the numbers are disappointing. This possibility is becoming more likely with every piece of soft data that is announced.
The British pound is trading at 1.4072 at this writing. Sterling has traded at a low of 1.4040 while the high has traded at 1.4141. Cable has recently seen a volatile move inside of the current established trading range this morning. Following a small rally off of the low of the day, cable then experienced an aggressive rally to trade at the high before easing back as the UK data was being released. UK Manufacturing Production was lower than expected, with -1.1% registered. In addition, UK Industrial Production was also lower than expected, recording -0.3%. Lastly, the UK Goods Trade Balance reported a larger deficit than expected of -12.0 billion pounds. The release of this data has enabled the US dollar to gain support once again and helped the dollar make a steady push towards its high versus the pound. The Bank of England meets next week to update its policy on UK interest rates. There are no expectations for any change in the current policy, as the BoE has previously stated that it intends to keep rates at the lows for an extended period. Recent economic data released will ensure that this position is maintained.
The Japanese yen is trading at 108.64 at present. USD/JPY has traded at a low of 108.07, while the high has traded at 109.10. After a week where 17-month highs were reached by the yen, the Japanese currency received a blatant suggestion of possible intervention from Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, who warned that rapid currency movement encouraging the strength of the yen was “undesirable”. The Japanese Current Account reported an improved 1.73 trillion yen, while Japanese Consumer Confidence registered 41.7, beating expectations. However, Japanese Economy Watchers Sentiment was lower than expected, with 45.4 listed.
AUD/USD is trading at 0.7538, with the low trading at 0.7499 and the high trading at 0.7569.
USD/CAD is trading at 1.3083, with the low trading at 1.3069 while the high has been 1.3156.
Disclaimer: This information has been prepared to provide you with general information only. It is not intended to take the place of professional advice and you should not take action on specific issues in reliance on this information.