Economic Data Puts the EUR, the Pound, and the U.S Dollar in the Spotlight

Earlier in the Day:

It was a relatively quiet start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. Inflation figures from Japan were in focus in the early hours of the day.

For the Japanese Yen

Tokyo core consumer prices fell by 0.1% in March, year-on-year, versus a forecasted 0.2% decline. In February, core consumer prices had fallen by 0.3%.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication,

• Fuel, light, & water charges fell by 7.1%, with prices for education falling by 1.9%.
• There were also modest falls in prices for medical care (-0.3%) and for transportation & communication (-0.2%).
• Price for furniture & household utensils rose by 3.6%, with prices for clothing increasing by 0.9%.
• There were also increases in prices for culture & recreation (+0.9%) and for clothes & footwear (+0.6%).

The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.209 to ¥109.199 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.09% to ¥109.29 against the U.S Dollar.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.16% to $0.7592, with the Kiwi Dollar up by 0.24% to $0.6966.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the economic calendar. German business sentiment figures for March are due out later this morning.

While private sector activity has picked up in March, concerns over COVID-19 may impact sentiment next month, however.

Expect EUR sensitivity to the numbers.

4^th quarter GDP numbers from Spain are also due out but should have a muted impact on the EUR.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.09775% to $1.1.

For the Pound

It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the economic calendar. Retail sales figures for February are due out. With the UK in lockdown mode, however, the markets aren’t expecting great numbers.

We can therefore expect some Pound resilience to any weak numbers following the BoE’s optimistic outlook on the economic recovery.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.09% to $1.3747.

Across the Pond

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar. The FED’s preferred Core PCE Price Index figures are due out along with personal spending numbers for February.

Inflation remains a key area of interest for the markets as does consumption, so expect the numbers to influence.

Other stats include trade data and finalized consumer sentiment figures that should have a muted impact on the markets.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.03% to 92.818.

For the Loonie

It’s yet another quiet on the economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of Canada to provide the Loonie with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the Loonie in the hands of market risk sentiment on the day.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.09% to C$1.2602 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.