USD eases against most major currencies

Key Movers

In Eurozone news, the German IFO Business Climate Index, which is a composite index based on surveyed manufacturers, builders, wholesalers, services, and retailers in the Eurozone area, came in below expectations. The index showed an 88.6 level, below the expected 89.4 forecasts and the previous 89.3 reading. This unexpected fall indicated more pessimistic expectations out of Europe’s largest economy. Similarly, the National Bank of Belgium’s (NBB) Business Climate results came in below expectations at -11.1 against the forecasted -10.2, and previous -11.

In the UK, the GBP strengthened against the USD as markets looked beyond the UK’s general election to focus on their monetary policy outlook. Meanwhile, UK Industrial Order Expectation numbers came in at -18 versus the forecasted -26 and previous -33 readings. This shows manufacturers reported output volumes that were largely unchanged in the past 3 months.

The CAD strengthened today against many of its major counterparts as oil climbed past $81 a barrel. Oil was up by around 0.71% this morning, bolstering the Loonie. The Canadian dollar continued to climb against the JPY, trading near the high 116 level and hitting an 8-week high this morning. Markets are looking ahead to Bank of Canada (BoC) Governor, Tiff Macklem’s speech today at 1:30 pm EST regarding jobs, growth, and inflation.