Forex Today: Mood remains upbeat ahead of US data, Jackson Hole Symposium
Here is what you need to know on Thursday, August 24:
Risk flows continue to drive the action in financial markets early Thursday and the US Dollar Index consolidates Wednesday's losses near 103.50. July Durable Goods Orders and weekly Initial Jobless Claims data from the US will be looked upon for fresh impetus in the early American session. The annual Jackson Hole Symposium will also get underway later in the day. Although there are no scheduled speeches at the event on Thursday, central bank officials could give interviews on the sidelines.
Disappointing PMI data releases from the EU, the UK and the US caused global bond yields to turn south on Wednesday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield declined 3% and weighed on the USD. Meanwhile, Wall Street's main indexes rallied after the opening bell midweek, led by strong gains in technology shares. At the time of press, Nasdaq Futures were up more than 1% on the day, suggesting that the rally in tech shares are likely to continue.
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 Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | -0.07% | -0.01% | -0.06% | 0.06% | 0.28% | 0.13% | -0.14% | |
| EUR | 0.03% | 0.03% | -0.02% | 0.10% | 0.32% | 0.20% | -0.10% | |
| GBP | 0.01% | -0.06% | -0.04% | 0.05% | 0.29% | 0.19% | -0.15% | |
| CAD | 0.04% | 0.01% | 0.04% | 0.14% | 0.32% | 0.22% | -0.08% | |
| AUD | -0.05% | -0.10% | -0.05% | -0.10% | 0.24% | 0.13% | -0.16% | |
| JPY | -0.27% | -0.33% | -0.30% | -0.33% | -0.20% | -0.12% | -0.43% | |
| NZD | -0.16% | -0.21% | -0.17% | -0.24% | -0.10% | 0.14% | -0.31% | |
| CHF | 0.13% | 0.05% | 0.12% | 0.06% | 0.20% | 0.41% | 0.30% |
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 dropped to its weakest level in over two months near 1.0800 in the European session on Wednesday but managed to stage a rebound later in the day amid renewed USD weakness. The pair holds steady slightly above 1.0850 early Thursday.
GBP/USD came under heavy bearish pressure following the dismal PMI reading and fell toward 1.2600 on Wednesday. Similarly to EUR/USD, the pair erased its losses later in the day. In the European morning, GBP/USD fluctuates in a tight channel above 1.2700.
Following Wednesday's sharp decline, USD/JPY gathered recovery momentum and climbed above 145.00 early Thursday.
Gold price benefited from retreating global yields and registered its biggest one-day gain in a month on Wednesday. XAU/USD holds its ground early Monday and trades in positive territory near $1,920.
Bitcoin gained more than 1% on Wednesday, supported by risk flows. BTC/USD, however, finds it difficult to extend its recovery and trades near $26,500 in the European session. Ethereum rose nearly 3% on Wednesday but lost its traction before testing $1,700.
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.
