US Dollar Mixed Ahead of Federal Open Market Committee Minutes
The US dollar mixed against its major trading partners early Monday, up versus the euro and yen, down versus the pound and Canadian dollar, as markets turned their focus to this week’s inflation data and the minutes of the March 19-20 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Tuesday’s highlights include business and consumer sentiment data. Wednesday’s schedule will be the focus of the week, with consumer price data for March and the FOMC minutes later in the day.
Thursday’s highlights include producer price data and weekly jobless claims, followed by import and export price data and the preliminary Michigan sentiment reading for April on Friday.
The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, followed by the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday.
A quick summary of foreign exchange activity heading into Monday shows that USDEUR fell to 1.0831 from 1.0836 at the Friday US close and 1.0834 at the same time Friday morning. Naira Devaluation Deepens Economic Crisis in Nigeria
Eurozone investor confidence improved in April but continued to indicate more pessimism than optimism, data released earlier Monday showed. The The European Central Bank will meet again on Thursday, if there is no change in interest rates is expected.
GBPUSD rose to 1.2633 from 1.2631 at the Friday US close and 1.2629 at the same time 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 Bank of England meeting is scheduled for May 9.
USDJPY rose to 151.8861 from 151.5472 at the Friday US close and 151.3843 at the same time Friday morning. Japanese wage growth slowed in February while the current account narrowed in the same month, data released overnight showed. A separate survey showed a deterioration in services business confidence in March. The next Bank of Japan meeting is scheduled for April 25-26.
USDCAD fell slightly to 1.3590 from 1.3592 at the Friday US close but was up from a level of 1.3561 at the same time Friday morning.
There are no Canadian data on Monday’s schedule. The next Bank of Canada meeting is set for Wednesday when interest rates are expected to be held steady.
