Last week's comments from the Bank of Japan provoked a massive sell-off of USD/JPY, as investors rushed to buy the Yen following the BoJ meeting, where policymakers said no additional easing was on the schedule.
The cable moved lower on Monday, easing back below the 1.67-mark, as the week ahead will offer a lot of incentives on both sides– from the U.K. and the U.S. to provide direction for one of the most traded currency pairs.
The world's largest economy will accelerate in the second quarter. This is clear, as the U.S. economy is finally emerging from the weather-induced slumber, with retail sales for March significantly outpacing markets' expectations.
After Mario Draghi's speech in the Washington DC, the toughest in his series ever, the single currency fell into a downward spiral, with EUR/USD loosing around 0.44% in the early morning European session.
After a 5-day rally last week, the Aussie lost most of its earlier made gains on profit taking and disappointing data from the world's second largest economy.
While the USD/JPY pair gave up its monthly high on Friday, the minutes of the latest Bank of Japan meeting confirmed that a set of measures to boost growth and deflation is working.
Earlier in April, the IMF claimed the U.K. will be the fastest-growing economy in the G7 this year.
Following the impressive rally that was provoked by dovish FOMC minutes, EUR/USD moved slightly lower on Friday, as the greenback finished the week on a high note.
Europe's powerhouse continues to disappoint… Still, it is not a question that the German economy is the star of the Eurozone, with its low unemployment, robust growth and relatively low debt level.
Two policy meetings, minutes from the BoJ and FOMC, and important unemployment data from Australia.
The Australian Dollar was the biggest mover during the Asian session on Thursday, supported by upbeat unemployment data from Australia, while dovish FOMC minutes dragged the U.S. Dollar lower.
Is the economy strong enough to withstand the tax hike? It seems that Kuroda is overconfident about the current state of the world's third largest economy, as a sharp drop in machinery orders suggests companies are not willing to make huge purchases.
The cable was trading in a narrow range following the Bank of England meeting, as policy makers offered no surprises, staying pat both on the interest rate and the stimulus programme.
The U.S. Dollar picked up from a two-week low versus the single currency on Thursday, as the U.S. Labor Department released better-than-excepted data from the nation's job market.
During the last policy meeting Mario Draghi finally hinted that the ECB is planning to launch the U.S.-style quantitative easing.
After retreating on Tuesday, the Australian Dollar regained strength a day later, approaching a strong resistance at 0.94.
This week's comments from the Bank of Japan provoked a massive sell-off of the USD/JPY, as investors rushed to buy the Yen following the BoJ meeting, where policymakers said no additional easing was on the schedule.
The cable continued its appreciation on Wednesday, as the Sterling was boosted by the stronger-than-expected trade figures from the U.K.
The U.S. Dollar declined further against the Euro Wednesday following the release of minutes from the Fed's meeting in March.
Last week we concluded that Europe's powerhouse is loosing momentum as during the week markets have received a series of disappointing figures.
On the back of a bunch of strong fundamental data in the recent month and hawkish comments from the RBA, the Australian Dollar moved back into the "uncomfortably high" level.
The Japanese Yen appreciated for a third straight day on Tuesday, while a measure of implied rate swings in currency markets plunged to its seven-year low, as the Bank of Japan stayed pat on its monetary policy.
The Pound has received a strong bullish bias on Tuesday, after manufacturing output came extremely positive.
Winter's slowdown is over. Confidence among the U.S. small-sized companies picked up more than expected in March, with six out of 10 sub-indexes posting solid improvement, suggesting the economy will gain momentum soon, boosted by stronger spending.