Australian Dollar (AUD) Suffers Pullback as Market Mood Weakens
The Australian Dollar (AUD) found itself weakening throughout Wednesday’s trading session in response to a more cautious market mood.
Australia continues to deal with an ongoing coronavirus outbreak which has seen the state of New South Wales record daily highs of coronavirus cases, forcing some cities to extend their lockdowns until September.
The Australian Dollar could be open to losses today if the global market mood remains gloomy and investors continue to favour safe-haven currencies.
Pound (GBP) Struggles for Direction on Absence of Economic Data
The Pound (GBP) struggled for direction through much of Wednesday’s session as an absence of economic data from the UK limited the appeal of Sterling.
It comes as supply-chain issues start to worry investors, raising concerns over the trajectory of the UK’s economic recovery in the second half of the year.
A lack of notable economic data from the UK will see investors keeping an eye on domestic coronavirus developments to determine the direction of GBP exchange rates today.
Euro (EUR) Struggles Following German IFO Index
The Euro (EUR) was unable to make any significant gains during yesterday’s session as Germany’s IFO business climate index softened for the second month in a row.
As a result, the Euro struggled to attract support as the index raised additional concerns over the momentum in the Eurozone’s largest economy.
Turning to today’s session, the Euro could face some additional pressure with the publication of the minutes from the ECB’s July policy meeting, which are likely to reaffirm the bank’s currency dovish bias.
US Dollar (USD) Supported as US Durable Goods Orders Beat Forecasts
The US Dollar (USD) strengthened against the majority of its peers on Wednesday as risk-off trade pushed traders towards the safe-haven ‘Greenback’.
Overnight, the latest US durable goods orders beat forecasts softening just 0.1% as the majority of the US economy remains in growth territory.
Overnight the latest initial US jobless claims paired with the most recent GDP growth rate estimate for Q2 could provide USD exchange rates with fresh impetus to head higher before the weekend if claims continue to fall.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Dips on Canadian Economic Figures
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) weakened on Wednesday as the latest Canadian wholesale sales fell further-than-expected to 2%, while a stalling of oil prices also undermined the appeal of the ‘Loonie’.
New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Slumps on Downbeat Trade Data
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) also fell back on Wednesday, after New Zealand reported a shock trade deficit in July.
Data Releases
Aug 26th 16:00 EUR German GfK Consumer Confidence (Sep) -0.7%
Aug 26th 21:30 EUR ECB Minutes
Aug 26th 22:30 USD GDP Growth Rate QoQ 2nd Est (Q2) 6.7%
Aug 26th 22:30 USD Initial Jobless Claims (21/Aug) 350k