US Dollar Weakens Versus GBP, EUR Ahead of Retail Data
The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Monday, except for a small improvement versus the yen, before the release of retail sales data for March and Empire State manufacturing conditions data for April.
The National Association of Home Builders sentiment index for April and business inventories data for February, while the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank is expected to release an update to their gross domestic Nowcast estimate for Q1 around midday.
Highlights for Tuesday include housing starts and industrial production data for February and an appearance by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Wednesday’s key releases will be weekly mortgage applications and energy stocks as well as the Fed’s Beige Book economic conditions summary.
Weekly initial jobless claims and existing-home sales data for March will be the highlights Thursday, followed by March state-level unemployment data Friday.
Weekly initial jobless claims and existing-home sales data for March will be the highlights Thursday, followed by March state-level unemployment data Friday. Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase
The International Monetary Fund annual meeting is underway and several appearances by Federal Reserve officials are spread throughout the week before the ‘quiet period’ begins Saturday ahead of the policy setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting April 30-May 1.
A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Monday showed that USDEUR rose to 1.0658 from 1.0634 at the Friday US close and 1.0652 at the same time Friday morning.
Eurozone industrial production rose as expected in February but was still down sharply year-over-year, data released earlier Monday showed. The next European Central Bank meeting is scheduled for June 6.
GBPUSD rose to 1.2495 from 1.2432 at the Friday US close and 1.2474 Friday morning. There are no UK data on Monday’s schedule, but Bank of England policy board member Sarah Breeden is set to speak today. The next BoE meeting is scheduled for May 9.
USDJPY rose to 153.9012 from 152.0601 at the Friday US close and 153.2361 at the same time Friday morning. Japanese core machinery orders rose sharply in February but were down from a year earlier, data released overnight showed. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 25-26.
USDCAD fell to 1.3740 from 1.3775 at the Friday US close and 1.3741 at the same time Friday morning. Canadian housing starts data for March is scheduled to be released, followed by manufacturing and wholesale sales for February. The next Bank of Canada meeting is scheduled for June 5.
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