US Dollar
The U.S. dollar is trading broadly higher against its major peers, only the Australian dollar booked gains against the greenback on better-than-expected data from Australia and China. Yesterday's better-than-expected U.S. economic data supported the U.S. currency. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for the U.S. jumped to 101.3 in March from 98.8 in February, beating expectations for a decline to 96.6. The Institute for Supply Management released its Chicago purchasing managers' index on Tuesday. The index climbed to 46.3 in March from 45.8 in February, missing expectations of a rise of 52.5. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index increased 4.6% in January, in line with expectations, after a 4.4% gain in December.
Euro
The euro rose against the US dollar, during the Asian session on Wednesday, recovering from 2-day losses and ahead of the European economy data to be released later today.
The British pound
The British pound traded higher against the US dollar in the Asian session before the statement from the release of the Manufacturing PMI.
The Australian dollar
The Australian dollar jumped against the U.S. dollar after a six-day decline on solid data from Australia and China, Australia's biggest trade partner. Building permits for February declined less than expected from a revised previous reading of +5.9% to -3.2%. Analysts expected permits to decline by -3.7%. Year on year Building Permits rose +14.3% with a previous reading of +9.1%.
The Japanese yen
The Japanese yen is trading higher against the greenback during the Asian session. The BoJ Tankan Manufacturing Index for the first quarter came in unchanged from a previous reading of 12. The BoJ Tankan Non-Manufacturing Index rose from 16 to 19, beating estimates of an increase to 17. Final data on the Japanese Manufacturing PMI came in lower at 50.3 vs. a previous reading of 50.4. Analysts expected an unchanged reading.