Forex Today: All eyes on US first-quarter GDP report

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Thursday, April 27:

Ahead of the US Bureau of Economic Analysis' first estimate of the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading, which is forecast to show an annualized expansion of 2%, the US Dollar stays relatively quiet early Thursday. The European Commission will release the business and consumer sentiment data for April and the US economic docket will also feature mid-tier data releases, including weekly Initial Jobless Claims and Pending Home Sales for March.

US GDP Q1 Preview: First estimate effect on EUR/USD.

The positive shift seen in risk sentiment mid-week following upbeat earnings reports from US tech giants made it difficult for the US Dollar (USD) to find demand. With US Treasury bond yields gaining traction in the American session and other major sectors in Wall Street struggling to attracting investors, however, the USD's losses remained limited. Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling on Wednesday. The bill, however, is not expected to get enough votes in the Senate.

EUR/USD touched its highest level in over a year near 1.1100 on Wednesday but erased a portion of its daily gains in the late American session. The pair fluctuates in a tight channel at around 1.1050 early Thursday.

The data from New Zealand revealed that the ANZ Business Confidence Index edged lower to -43.8 in April from -43.4 in March. In the same period, the ANZ Activity Outlook Index improved slightly to -7.6% from -8.5%. Despite the mixed data, NZD/USD trades in positive territory near 0.6150 in the European morning.

GBP/USD gathered bullish momentum amid renewed USD weakness and climbed above 1.2500 for the first time in nearly two weeks on Wednesday. The pair stays in a consolidation phase below that level in the European session on Thursday.

USD/JPY tested 133.00 on Wednesday but retraced its daily decline to close above 133.50. The pair moves sideways below 134.00 on Thursday. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely expected to leave its monetary policy settings unchanged on Friday.

Gold price failed to stabilize above $2,000 despite USD weakness on Wednesday as the rising US T-bond yields limited the upside. XAU/USD trades in positive territory early Thursday but is yet to make a convincing move beyond $2,000.

Bitcoin rose sharply on Wednesday but retraced the majority of its daily rally after having met resistance at $30,000. At the time of press, BTC/USD was trading modestly higher on the day slightly below $29,000. Ethereum fluctuated wildly on Wednesday but ended up closing the day flat. ETH/USD is already up more than 1% on the day on Thursday, closing in on $1,900.

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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