Forex Today: Markets turn choppy ahead of US housing data

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Here is what you need to know on Friday, November 17:

Financial markets stay relatively quiet for the third straight day on Friday in the absence of fundamental drivers. Eurostat will release revisions to October Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data and the US economic docket will feature Housing Starts and Building Permits.

Uninspiring data releases from the US on Thursday made it difficult for the US Dollar (USD) to build on Wednesday's recovery gains. The US Department of Labor reported that the number of Initial Jobless Claims increased by 13,000 to 231,000 in the week ending November 11 and the Federal Reserve's monthly publication revealed that Industrial Production contracted by 0.6% in October following September's 0.1% growth. In the meantime, Wall Street's main indexes closed the day virtually unchanged, while the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield turned south and dropped toward 4.4%.

US Dollar price this week

The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the Australian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	CAD	AUD	JPY	NZD	CHF
USD		-1.44%	-1.28%	-0.36%	-1.77%	-1.08%	-1.27%	-1.53%
EUR	1.42%		0.16%	1.06%	-0.32%	0.36%	0.16%	-0.06%
GBP	1.26%	-0.15%		0.90%	-0.47%	0.22%	0.03%	-0.25%
CAD	0.36%	-1.08%	-0.91%		-1.40%	-0.72%	-0.90%	-1.15%
AUD	1.74%	0.31%	0.47%	1.37%		0.68%	0.50%	0.22%
JPY	1.07%	-0.39%	-0.22%	0.70%	-0.70%		-0.17%	-0.46%
NZD	1.26%	-0.19%	-0.03%	0.87%	-0.50%	0.19%		-0.28%
CHF	1.49%	0.08%	0.24%	1.15%	-0.23%	0.46%	0.28%

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).

EUR/USD closed the day flat on Thursday and went into a consolidation phase at around 1.0850 on Friday.

GBP/USD fluctuated in a very tight range near 1.2400 on Thursday. Early Friday, the pair started to edge lower and was last seen losing 0.23% on the day at 1.2385.

USD/JPY turned south on Thursday and closed below 151.00. The pair continued to push lower during the Asian trading hours and came within a touching distance of 150.00. Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda said that the central bank does not have any specific plan yet on how it will sell ETFs and that a weaker Japanese Yen (JPY) pushes up domestic inflation via a rise in import costs. "I cannot say decisively that a weak JPY is negative for Japan's economy," Ueda added.

Gold benefited from retreating US Treasury bond yields on Thursday and climbed above $1,980. XAU/USD preserves its bullish momentum early Friday and advances toward $1,990.

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.

GBP/USD climbs to two-day highs past 1.3200

GBP/USD picks up extra pace and surpasses the 1.3200 threshold on Thursday. That said, Cable manages to shrug off initial weakness and regain balance on the back of the fresh selling pressure hurting the Greenback.

EUR/USD softens toward 13‑month low near 1.1350 as rising US PCE inflation lifts US Dollar

The EUR/USD pair loses ground to around 1.1365 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday. The major remains near a 13-month low as market expectations for US interest rate hikes have risen. Traders brace for the release of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report, which will be released later on Friday.

Gold drifts lower as Hormuz risks revive USD demand

Gold struggles to build on the overnight bounce from its lowest level since November 2025 as geopolitical risks stemming from an attack on a cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz support the US Dollar. Meanwhile, mostly in-line US inflation data eased bets for Fed rate hikes this year, capping the USD and helping the non-yielding bullion to hold above $4,000 during the Asian session. Nevertheless, the commodity remains on track to record losses for the fourth consecutive week.

Uniswap adds $150M in Spark stablecoin liquidity, launches no-code token auction tool

Uniswap received $150 million in stablecoin liquidity from Spark, with the assets set to transition to DualPool, a new custom liquidity hook, according to an announcement on Thursday. Under the new setup, liquidity providers will be able to earn swap fees while their underlying assets continue generating yield, eliminating the need to choose between the two.

Micron prints perfect, and now the chart has to answer

Memory’s biggest name just delivered the cleanest quarter of its life, and the most interesting thing about it is that the stock isn’t sure what to do with it. Micron closed out fiscal Q3 with revenue of $41.5 billion, up 346% on the year, a fifth straight record. Gross margin came in at 84.9%, up from 39% the same quarter a year ago. Earnings landed at $25.11 against a Street sitting near $20.49.

Regime change: Inside Kevin Warsh's first move to make the Fed unreadable on purpose

The rate did not move. That was the least interesting thing about Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the Fed. The FOMC held its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for the fourth straight meeting, exactly as priced, and then the new chair used his first press conference to dismantle the machinery the market has leaned on for a decade.