The U.S. dollar trades flat this morning, despite key drivers from Europe, Australia, and China

Key Movers

The U.K. economy unexpectedly shrank, pushing the GDP 0.2 percent lower, delivering a blow to newly installed Prime Minister Boris Johnson. At the same time, Boris Johnson said there is still time to renegotiate the Brexit divorce deal and urged bloc leaders to show "common sense" and rewrite the accord. Officials in Brussels disagree and are so far not willing to reopen the agreement. German exports registered their steepest annual decline in three years in June. According to Destatis Statistisches Bundesamt, the foreign trade balance showed a surplus of 16.8 billion Euros in June 2019, while the expected number was 19.5 billion Euros. In Europe as well, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said that the government no longer held a majority in parliament and called for "swift" elections, The yield premium of Italian bonds over German securities, a key gauge of risk, climbed toward the widest level in a month on Thursday. Australia's dollar climbed for a second day after Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe signaled the worst might be over for the economy. Lowe added that there are signs Australia's economy, "…may have reached a gentle turning point," adding that quarterly GDP growth is expected to strengthen gradually. The AUD/USD pair trades at 0.6815 representing a 0.15 percent increase this morning. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said the exchange rate is at a competitive level on average; the NZD/USD trades at 0.6495, a 0.20 percent increase.