The Japanese Yen posted further gains versus other major currencies on Wednesday, with USD/JPY trading around 101.23, almost at the highest level in three months.
It was not difficult to predict stronger-than-expected retail sales figures from the U.K. on Wednesday, keeping in mind subdued inflation as well as later timing of Easter this year.
The U.S. Dollar advanced versus the Japanese Yen for the first time in six sessions, as the U.S. central bank's meeting showed policymakers will continue reducing its stimulus programme, with stock markets also reacting positively on the announcement.
Mario Draghi has been waving a loaded gun so often in the recent months, pledging to act, that some analysts even believe he is afraid of doing anything.
The Australian Dollar moved lower some 30 pips on Tuesday, pushed lower by RBA minutes as well as comments that suggested the currency will be weaker in the nearest future due to a decline in capital flows.
The greenback is still losing ground versus the Japanese Yen, which has already climbed 0.32%, while further appreciation can be a threat to the bullish trend carried from the previous year.
Following five consecutive months of falling inflation, the costs of living in the U.K. picked up, and what is more important, inflation rose above average estimates, as air and sea fares pushed the indicator higher.
The world's largest economy has almost stalled in the first quarter due to harsh weather conditions.
As it was expected, the most traded currency pair remained around 1.37-mark ahead of the FOMC meeting.
The rally on AUD/USD that has been seen since January can be running out of steam, as the pair struggles to move above the recent high at 0.9461 and the double top pattern can be completed soon.
Japan's economy can gain momentum even after the tax hike in April.
The latest report from the Rightmove Plc. showed that asking prices in the capital of the U.K. surged to a record high this month, as all of London's capital's boroughs posted increases.
There is a bunch of important economic releases from the United States this week, including speeches from the FOMC members, Janet Yellen's testimony in New York, FOMC minutes as well as weekly jobless claims and data from the housing market.
By the end of 2013 the 18-nation's bloc's real GDP was 3% lower than in the first quarter of 2008, meaning there is an excess capacity in the economy.
Australian economy used to rely on the mining sector for decades.
Expectations surrounding future moves of the monetary policy by the Bank of Japan have been diminished recently by a high level of confidence about the economy as well as claims from analysts the central bank will rather tighten its monetary policy, rather than ease it further.
The latest poll compiled by Ipsos Mori– a leading market research company in the U.K., showed that British people are now much more optimistic about the economy that at any time in 36 years.
The greenback continued its appreciation versus the single currency on Friday, adding 0.16% at the time of writing, as together with dovish comments from the ECB, the world's largest economy provided an optimistic view on the housing market, pushing the greenback higher.
Analysts are now predicting the central bank will cut both the refinancing rate and deposit rate during June's meeting.
More disappointment from the Bank of England, another set of worrying data from the Eurozone and optimistic budget from New Zealand were the last week's main highlights.
Australian policymakers and politics are not univocal and each is pushing the currency in the different direction.
Shinzo Abe and Haruhiko Kuroda can breathe out.
Following disappointing Inflation Report on Wednesday and boring BoE meeting a week earlier, now it is time for the MPC members to shed light on future moves of the monetary policy.
As it was expected, the EUR/USD pair moved lower on Thursday following upbeat fundamentals from the U.S.