Home Daily Commentaries The Greenback shoots to almost a two year high following robust economic data and favorable US equity markets

The Greenback shoots to almost a two year high following robust economic data and favorable US equity markets

Daily Currency Update

USD - United States DollarThe US dollar had a massive rally of 0.53 percent yesterday as central banks around the world continue with a dovish stance. On the release side this morning, data shows that Core Durable Goods Orders rose by the most in eight months in March, showing surprising strength. This suggests that corporate investment is improving, although there is still trade war uncertainty. By contrast, jobless claims rose 37,000 to 230,000 in the week ending on April 20th. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased to 206,000. Also, filings for US unemployment benefits surged the most since 2017, an indication of a tight labor market.

Key Movers

The Bank of Canada caused surprise by removing its bias towards rate hikes, lowering its 2019 GDP by more than expected (1.2 percent versus 1.7 percent), and reducing its neutral rate to 2.25-3.25 percent from 2.5-3.5 percent.The Bank of Japan said the economy would only expand 0.8 percent versus its prediction of 0.9 percent. Furthermore, despite that it has been almost nine years since Governor Haruhiko Kuroda launched its radical program to reflate prices, the BoJ now projects that it won't accomplish its 2 percent inflation target at least through March 2022. At the time of this writing, the Japanese Yen rallies versus the major currencies. The USD/JPY falls 0.4 percent (stronger Yen), and the CAD/JPY falls 1.4 percent (stronger Yen).

Expected Ranges

  • USD/CAD: 1.3460 - 1.3505 ▼
  • EUR/USD: 1.1128 - 1.1165 ▼
  • GBP/USD: 1.2890 - 1.2940 ▼
  • AUD/USD: 0.6985 - 0.7051 ▼
  • NZD/USD: 0.6595 - 0.6642 ▼