00:30 Japan BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda Speaks
01:30 Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales (YoY) March -3.5% -2.8%
01:30 Australia NAB Quarterly Business Confidence Quarter I 8 6
01:30 Australia New Motor Vehicle Sales (MoM) March +0.1% -0.3%
The dollar fell against most of its 16 major peers after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the central bank has a “continuing commitment” to support the economic recovery. “The larger the shortfall of employment or inflation from their respective objectives, and the slower the projected progress toward those objectives, the longer the current target range for the federal funds rate is likely to be maintained,” Yellen told the Economic Club of New York yesterday. The employment shortfall “remains significant, and in our baseline outlook, it will take more than two years to close,” she said.
The pound rose to the highest in more than four years after data yesterday showed the U.K unemployment rate fell to the lowest since 2009, adding to signs the economy is gaining traction. The jobless rate, as measured by International Labour Organization methods, dropped to 6.9 percent in the three months through February from 7.2 percent in the quarter through January, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists was a decline to 7.1 percent.
The yen strengthened, snapping a four-day decline versus its U.S. peer before Japan’s Cabinet Office releases its monthly economic report.
Financial markets in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are among those that will be closed for a holiday tomorrow.
EUR / USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose to $ 1.3840
GBP / USD: during the Asian session, the pair rose $ 1.6835
USD / JPY: on Asian session the pair fell to Y101.85
A light UK data calendar as we head into the Easter weekend. US data starts at 1230GMT with the weekly Jobless Claims where claims are expected rise to 315,000 after falling to the lowest level in almost seven years in the previous week. At 1400GMT, the Philadelphia Fed index is expected to rise to a reading of 10.0 in April after rebounding in March. This is followed by the weekly EIA Natural Gas Storage data at 1430GMT. However, late US data still sees the 2030GMT release of M2 Money Supply. European data starts at 0600GMT with Germany PPI as well as the EMU ACEA car registrations data for March. EMU Current Account data is due at 0800GMT, while at 1100GMT, ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch is due to speak, in Tirana, Albania.