US Dollar
The US Dollar traded lower against its major peers on Thursday in the absence of any major U.S. economic reports. Market participants await the upcoming FOMC meeting next week to see if there are going to be any changes with the monetary policies.
Euro
The euro stabilized after its recent plunge. Sterling is trading positive. Quantitative Easing and concerns over Greece continue to weigh on the single currency.
The British pound
The British pound rose in the Asian market against the US dollar to recover from the lowest level in 20 months, ahead of the trade balance in Britain. Data is expected to come out at 9.7 billion pounds from10.2 billion pounds.
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar added against the greenback although Consumer Inflation Expectations for March declined from a previous reading in February. March Inflation Expectations came in at +3.2%, compared to +4.0% in the previous month. The number of people employed rose more-than-expected by 15,600 compared to a revised decline in January of -14,600. Analyst expected an increase of 15,300. The Unemployment Rate came in at 6.3%, 0.1% below forecasts and the previous reading.
Japanese yen
The Japanese yen traded higher against the greenback on Thursday recovering from a new 8-year low at USD122 set on Tuesday. The Japanese Tertiary Industry Index improved by 1.4% beating estimates of +0.6% for the month of January. The BSI Manufacturing Index dropped more than predicted to 2.4 points compared to forecasts of a decline to 5.7. Consumer Confidence in February improved to 40.7, beating estimates of a rise from previous 39.1 to 39.9.