The single currency was just slightly bullish on Friday, with the EUR/USD currency pair moving to 1.3714; however, the pair was not able to move above the strong psychological level of 1.37.
Mark Carney and Janet Yellen were expected to be the main highlights of the last week; however, both of them provided no surprises and sounded not very convincing. While both the U.S. Dollar and Pound were highly volatile last week, traders paid their attention to the kiwi and Japanese Yen, as risk-on sentiment prevailed the markets. This week traders' eyes
The Australian Dollar plummeted against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pushed lower by disappointing figures from the Oz labour market, spurring investors to pare bets on the upcoming interest rate hike from the RBA.
While Janet Yellen refrained from making any bold statements during her first speech as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, she backed the unprecedented stimulus programme from the Bank of Japan, saying it is "natural and logical" to make efforts to end 20 years of deflation and weak growth.
While the Pound soared most in three months amid speculations the Bank of England will fail to keep interest rates low and will start raising borrowing costs sooner-than-expected, the housing market performed the similar rally.
The U.S. Dollar was traded lower on Thursday following disappointing fundamental data from the world's largest economy, with both retail sales and unemployment claims surprising markets to the downside.
According to the ECB governing council member Luc Coene, the central bank will not act soon, as policymakers are waiting for more information on the inflation outlook before making any assessments of the 18-nation economy.
The International Monetary Fund said the monetary policy in Australia should remain accommodative and act as the main tool to manage aggregate demand in the near term, even as a weaker Australian Dollar remains a key factor for achieving a broad-based economic pickup.
Japan's economic growth is projected to accelerate at the end of last year as consumers increased spending ahead of a planned sales tax hike, while analysts believe officials may have to consider to inject fresh stimulus to brighten the economic outlook.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney underlined his pledge to maintain interest rates unchanged at a record low in an overhaul of forward guidance to fight persisting slack in the U.K. economy.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to lift the government's borrowing limit until March 2015, without any conditions.
According to the Economy Ministry, German economic growth will pick up steam this year as domestic demand strengthens; however, foreign trade will weigh on export-oriented economy for a second consecutive year.
Consumer sentiment in Australia continued to fall as households are concerned about the economic prospects and rising interest rates.
Japan's core machinery orders fell in December the most since 1998, adding to concerns business investment growth could stall in coming months and weigh on a steady recovery in the world's number three economy.
The Confederation of British Industry, the U.K.'s leading business group, revised its growth forecast upwards for the U.K. economy as it is poised to pick up steam from business investment on low borrowing cost, and net trade is set to rise this year.
New Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday said that she would not make any drastic changes to her predecessor's monetary policy and would stick to tapering stimulus in "measured steps", even amid recent weak employment reports
According to the French audit office, Francois Holland's government is overoptimistic about tax revenues and the results of its austerity measures.
Consumer morale in Canada declined to the lowest level since May 2013 amid speculation the country's economic outlook is deteriorating.
Current account deficit of the world's third biggest economy expanded to a record in December amid soaring imports, adding to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's challenges as he attempts to boost a recovery in Japan.
Retail sales in the U.K. rebounded in January after weak December to post their strongest annual gain since April 2011, partially boosted by a recovery in the country's property market.
On Tuesday global investors will be keeping a close eye on Capitol Hill, where the newly installed Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen testifies for the first time before Congress on monetary policy and the U.S. economic outlook.
A bunch of negative data came out on February 10 from the biggest European economies, namely France and Italy.
During the last half a year or so the RBA was constantly expressing their concerns about the strength of domestic currency that was weighing on economic recovery.
A couple of years ago the Swiss National Bank's largest concern was the strength of the Franc, as investors rushed to buy the currency considering it as a safe haven.