Forex Today: Key EU and US inflation data to inject volatility into markets
Here is what you need to know on Thursday, August 31:
Major currency pair stay relatively quiet early Thursday following Wednesday's volatile action. Eurozone inflation figures will be watched closely by market participants later in the session before the European Central Bank (ECB) releases the Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts. In the second half of the day, the US economic docket will feature Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, and the weekly Initial Jobless Claims data.
Eurozone Inflation Preview: ECB hawks unlikely to be pleased despite easing price pressures.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that it revised the annualized second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth down to 2.1% in its second estimate from 2.4% in the initial estimate. Additionally, ADP reported that employment in the private sector rose 177,000 in August, falling short of the market expectation for an increase of 195,000. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield declined toward 4% following these disappointing data releases and the USD struggled to find demand during the American trading hours. The US Dollar Index (DXY) closed the third straight day in negative territory. Although DXY holds steady above 103.00 in the European morning, it's down nearly 1% since the beginning of the week.
US Core PCE Inflation Preview: Federal Reserve preferred price indicator set to remain above target.
US Dollar price today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | 0.24% | 0.02% | 0.06% | 0.01% | -0.10% | 0.00% | 0.16% | |
| EUR | -0.24% | -0.18% | -0.17% | -0.23% | -0.34% | -0.22% | -0.07% | |
| GBP | -0.05% | 0.17% | 0.01% | -0.07% | -0.16% | -0.04% | 0.09% | |
| CAD | -0.06% | 0.16% | -0.04% | -0.05% | -0.17% | -0.06% | 0.10% | |
| AUD | 0.02% | 0.22% | 0.08% | 0.06% | -0.08% | 0.03% | 0.15% | |
| JPY | 0.11% | 0.34% | 0.12% | 0.15% | 0.12% | 0.12% | 0.26% | |
| NZD | 0.01% | 0.25% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.00% | -0.11% | 0.15% | |
| CHF | -0.17% | 0.06% | -0.12% | -0.11% | -0.16% | -0.27% | -0.16% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
NBS Manufacturing PMI edged higher to 49.7 in August and Non-Manufacturing PMI retreated to 51, the data from China showed in the Asian session. In the meantime, New Zealand's ANZ Activity Outlook Index jumped to 11.2% in August from 0.8% in July, while the ANZ Business Confidence Index came in at -3.7, missing the market expectation of -1.9. NZD/USD struggled to make a decisive following these data releases and was last seen trading sideways at around 0.5950.
EUR/USD touched its highest level in two weeks near 1.0950 on Wednesday before going into a consolidation phase slightly above 1.0900 early Thursday.
GBP/USD registered gains for the third straight day on Wednesday but lost its bullish momentum in the European morning on Thursday. At the time of press, the pair was trading in negative territory at around 1.2700.
Following Tuesday's slide, USD/JPY recovered modestly on Wednesday. The pair was last seen fluctuating in a tight channel at around 146.00.
Gold price benefited from falling US yields on Wednesday and touched its highest level in a month near $1,950. In the early European session, XAU/USD consolidates its weekly gains near mid-$1,940s.
Bitcoin staged a downward correction following Tuesday's impressive rally and lost more than 1% on Wednesday. In the European morning, BTC/USD stays calm near $27,200. Ethereum moves sideways at around $1,700 after losing 1.4% on Wednesday.
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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