Australian Dollar (AUD) Climbs as Ukraine Willing to Negotiate Further
The Australian Dollar (AUD) trended up against its peers on Thursday as comments from Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, extended some risk-on support.
Although yesterday’s negotiations came to an end without any progress made on achieving a ceasefire, Kuleba said that he is ready to meet again using the same format. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also said the talks were ‘an important start’.
Into today, a lack of significant data leaves the ‘Aussie’ to trade on external factors. If humanitarian corridors leading out of besieged Ukrainian cities are successfully agreed between Russian and Ukrainian forces, AUD could climb on a stronger market mood.
Pound (GBP) Trades Mixed on Wavering Risk Sentiment
The Pound (GBP) traded in a mixed range against its rival currencies yesterday, as ongoing conflict in Ukraine exerted some pressure but risk-on sentiment capped losses.
Following the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, in which three people died. Western nations came together to express their outrage at Russia’s tactics, imposing further sanctions.
UK GDP data may lend Sterling support today – the UK economy is expected to have grown 0.2% in January following a 0.2% contraction in December.
Euro (EUR) Bounces Up on ECB Comments
The Euro (EUR) climbed during Thursday’s session in response to hawkish comments from the European Central Bank (ECB) – though the single currency dipped back down soon afterwards.
The ECB said that it will conclude net purchases under the APP program in the third quarter and lifted bets for a 25 bps rate hike in October. However, ECB President Christine Lagarde observed that risks to the economic outlook have increased on account of the Ukraine crisis.
German inflation could affect EUR exchange rates today, as the CPI is expected to print at 5.1%. If the data meets or exceeds expectations, the Euro may climb on ECB rate hike hopes.
US Dollar (USD) Supported by High US Inflation
The US Dollar (USD) was able to attract support yesterday despite intermittent risk-on sentiment, as US CPI data revealed domestic inflation reached 7.9% in February.
Surging inflation in America encourages aggressive monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve, who are widely expected to hike interest rates this month.
Looking ahead, the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index could influence USD trading early tomorrow – if sentiment falls as forecast in March, the ‘Greenback’ may sink against its peers.
Canadian Dollar (CAD) Firms Overall on Oil Rally
The commodity-linked Canadian Dollar (CAD) was buoyed on Thursday as a lack of progress in diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia triggered an increase in crude prices.
Canadian employment data might affect the ‘Loonie’ today – if unemployment falls as expected and employment change increases, CAD could enjoy tailwinds.
New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Gains on Renewed Risk Appetite
The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) found support on waning risk aversion yesterday, alongside AUD strength.
Data Releases
Mar 11th 17:00 EUR German Inflation Rate Final (Feb) 5.1%
Mar 11th 17:00 GBP GDP (Jan) 0.2%
Mar 11th 17:00 GBP Manufacturing Production (Jan) 0.2%
Mar 11th 23:30 CAD Unemployment Rate (Feb) 6.2%
Mar 11th 23:30 CAD Employment Change (Feb) 160K
Mar 12th 01:00 USD Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prelim (Mar) 61.4