Today’s Economic events
- Japan Monetary Base y/y 28.50% vs. 28.70%
- Australia MI inflation gauge m/m 0.0% vs. -0.20% previously
- Australia building approvals m/m 3.10% vs. 2.10%
- Australia retail sales m/m 0.0% vs. 0.40%
- ANZ Job Advertisements m/m 0.20% vs. -1.20% previously
- Eurozone Sentix investor confidence 5.7 vs. 6.9
- Eurozone unemployment rate 10.30% vs. 10.30%
- UK construction PMI 54.2 vs. 54.3
- Eurozone PPI m/m -0.70% vs. -0.50%
Coming Up
- BoC Gov. Poloz Speech
- The US factory orders
- The US labor market conditions index
Following Friday’s sell-off in the US dollar which saw the commodity-linked currencies close on a high, the Asian session opened today on a rather subdued note with the US dollar attempting to regain some of the lost ground from Friday. Economic data saw the early Asian trading getting off to a busy start. Australia’s MI inflation gauge was flat, at 0.0% following the previous reading of -0.20%. Building approvals were higher, rising 3.10% beating forecasts of 2.10% in February. January’s numbers were also revised higher from -7.50% to -6.60%. AUDUSD slipped on the data as the Aussie trimmed its gains after trading near a 9-month high last week. Currently, the Aussie is down 0.68% for the day ahead of tomorrow’s crucial RBA monetary policy meeting.
The NZDUSD also opened weaker today, down 0.63% at the time of writing after the currency hit a 9-month high previously.
The Japanese Yen was, however, stronger across the board. USDJPY is down 0.07% at the time of writing after the Greenback continued to post steady losses since Friday’s session. USDJPY tested the support at 111.38 multiple times before managing to push higher.
Asian equity markets were mixed today with the Nikkei225 falling 0.25% while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.17% for the day.
In Europe economic data included the Eurozone Sentix investor confidence which was weaker, rising 5.7 against forecasts of 6.9, but modestly higher at 5.5 from a month ago. Eurozone’s unemployment rate fell back to 10.30% in February after the previous month’s unemployment rate was revised higher from 10.30% to 10.40%. Producers Price Index data released was weaker as well down 0.70% in February below estimates but moderated from January’s revised print of 1.10%. EURUSD declined since the start of trading today and is currently down 0.06% trading at $1.1385.
GBPUSD is currently up 0.31% after prices initially fell to session lows at $1.42 briefly. UK’s construction PMI was at 54.2, softly missing estimates of 54.3 and staying the same since February’s 54.2. On the equity front, European markets are trading higher today with the German DAX up 1.04% and the London FTSE100 up 0.69% at the time of writing.
The NY session opened on a quiet note ahead of BoC Governor, Poloz Speech followed by US factory orders which are expected to show a decline of 1.50% in February. US equity market futures are pointing to a higher open with the Dow futures up 0.07% and the S&P500 futures up 0.15% ahead of the opening bell.
On the commodity front, Gold prices are down 0.08% with prices seen lifting off after testing session lows near 1215. Gold is currently trading at $1220 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil is up 0.93% at the time of writing, trading at $37 a barrel. The gains came after an initial dip to session lows at $36.30.
