August 2, 2016: The JPY is the strongest while the USD is the weakest.
The news came out of Japan regarding their stimulus and out of Australia with regard to their interest rate cut. You might have expected a lower JPY and AUD but in fact each have seen their currency rise. The JPY and the AUD are at the top of the table (strongest currencies) as North American traders enter for the trading day. The weakest today is the USD as it shows declined from yesterday's close against all the major currency pairs.
On the calendar for the rest of the day there is the Core PCE price index for June. The expectations is for a gain of 0.1% MoM and YoY of 1.6% (vs 1.6% last month). Personal spending (est. +0.3% vs +0.4% last month) and Personal Income (est. +0.3% and +0.2% last month). That data will be released at 8:30 AM. At 930 AM et, the RBC Manufacturing PMI from RBC will be released in Canada. Last month it was 51.8. The US Auto sales are to be released with Total vehicle sales expected to come in at 17.1M units.
Below is a snapshot of the ranges and changes for the major currency pairs. Ironically at the time of the picture the GBPUSD, USDJPY and USDCAD were each 63 pips away from the closing level yesterday, while the EURUSD, USDCHF and NZDUSD were each about 30 pips from the closing level. Just saying. Does not really mean a lot. Although some pairs are close to the 22-day average range (red lines in the lower chart), the ranges are compressing with the summer time trading (or so it seems). So be patient and don't be afraid to take profit vs. looking for huge moves.
