Commodity currencies such as the Australian, the New Zealand and
the Canadian dollars strengthened against their major counterparts
in the Asian session on Thursday amid risk appetite, as oil prices
surged following the OPEC's output cut deal announcement and
investors digested better-than-expected durable goods orders data
as well as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony before a
Congressional committee.
Crude oil for November delivery is currently up 0.05 percent to
$47.10 per barrel. Late Wednesday, OPEC members have reached a deal
to cut oil production for the first time since 2008, which will be
executed at its November meeting.
Meanwhile, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank has no
fixed timetable for raising interest rates.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders were virtually
unchanged in August after jumping by a revised 3.6 percent in July.
Economists had expected orders to pull back by about 1.4 percent
compared to the 4.4 percent spike reported for the previous
month.
Wednesday, the Australian and the New Zealand dollars showed
mixed trading against its major rivals. While the aussie rose
against the euro, it held steady against the U.S. dollar and the
yen.
The kiwi fell against the U.S. dollar and the euro, but held
steady against the yen.
The loonie rose 0.87 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.39
percent against the yen, and 0.79 percent against the euro.
In the Asian trading, the Australian dollar rose to a
1-1/2-month high of 1.4558 against the euro, from yesterday's
closing value of 1.4581. The aussie may test resistance near the
1.43 region.
Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the aussie advanced to a
3-week high of 0.7710 and nearly a 3-week high of 78.17 from
yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7692 and 77.44, respectively. If
the aussie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance
around 0.78 against the greenback and 79.00 against the yen.
The NZ dollar rose to an 8-day high of 74.05 against the yen
from yesterday's closing value of 73.30. The kiwi is likely to find
resistance near the 76.00 area.
Against the euro, the U.S. and the Australian dollars, the kiwi
advanced to 1.5363, 0.7303 and 1.0532 from yesterday's closing
quotes of 1.5402, 0.7284 and 1.0559, respectively. If the kiwi
extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.51
against the euro, 0.74 against the greenback, and 1.03 against the
aussie.
The Canadian dollar rose to an 8-day high of 77.69 against the
yen and a 3-day high of 1.0039 against the Australian dollar, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 76.97 and 1.0059, respectively. If
the loonie extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance
around 79.00 against the yen and 0.99 against the aussie.
Against the U.S. dollar and the euro, the loonie advanced to
6-day highs of 1.3048 and 1.4644 from yesterday's closing quotes of
1.3079 and 1.4671, respectively. On the upside, 1.29 against the
greenback and 1.45 against the euro are seen as the next resistance
levels for the loonie.
The safe-haven yen weakened against the other major currencies
amid risk appetite.
In other economic news, data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry showed that retail sales in Japan were down 1.1
percent on month in August. That missed forecasts for a decline of
0.8 percent following the upwardly revised 1.5 percent increase in
July.
The yen fell to 8-day lows of 113.99 against the euro, 104.57
against the Swiss franc, and 101.49 against the U.S. dollar, from
yesterday's closing quotes of 112.93, 103.66 and 100.68,
respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to
find support around 115.00 against the euro, 105.00 against the
franc, and 104.00 against the greenback.
Against the pound, the yen dropped to a 6-day low of 132.24 from
yesterday's closing value of 131.03. On the downside, 135.00 is
seen as the next support level for the yen.
Looking ahead, the German unemployment rate for September, U.K.
BoE mortgage approvals data for August and M4 money supply data for
July, Eurozone business climate index for September are due to be
released later in the day.
At 2:35 am ET, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda is
expected to speak at the National Securities Industry Convention,
in Tokyo.
At 5:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President
Patrick Harker will deliver a speech on the economic outlook before
the Global Interdependence Center Central Banking Series, in
Dublin, Ireland.
At 6:00 am ET, European Central Bank Chief economist Peter Praet
is expected to speak at the 6th Workshop on Applied Econometrics
and Economic Policy organized by the Halle Institute for Economic
Research, in Halle, Germany.
In the New York session, the German flash CPI data for
September, U.S. final GDP data for the first estimate, U.S. advance
goods trade balance and pending homes sales, both for August, and
U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended September 24 are
slated for release. At 8:50 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
President Dennis Lockhart is expected to speak before the 2016
Future of Florida Forum, in Orlando, United States.
At 9:00 am ET, Bank of England MPC Member Kristin Forbes will
participate in a panel discussion at the European Central Bank
annual research conference, in Frankfurt.
At 10:00 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell will
deliver a speech titled "Trends in Community Bank Performance Over
the Past 20 Years" at the Community Banking Research and Policy
Conference, in St. Louis.
At the same time, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi
and Vice President Vitor Constancio are expected to speak at the
First ECB Annual Research Conference in Frankfurt.
At 2:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President
Neel Kashkari participates in Town Hall on economic development in
Rapid City and surrounding areas, in South Dakota.
At 4:00 pm ET, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to
speak at the Minority Bankers Forum in Kansas City, via
satellite.
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