The US Dollar is trading mixed against its major peers adding gains against the commodity currencies - the Australian and New Zealand dollar, while losing against the euro, the pound and the yen. The weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods orders data weighed on the currency. Durable goods orders dropped 1.4% in February, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase, after a 2.0% rise in January. January's figure was revised down from a 2.8% increase.
The U.S. durable goods orders excluding transportation declined 0.4% in February, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.7% decrease in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.3% gain.
EURO
The euro is trading higher against the greenback continuing yesterday's gains on solid German data.
The British pound
The British Pound rose during the Asian session on Thursday, extending a rally for the second consecutive day against the US dollar, ahead of the UK retail sales data. This figure is considered one of the most important indicators for measuring levels of consumer spending. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, is also expected to give a speech by 17:30 GMT.
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar declined against the U.S. dollar. Yesterday, the RBA published its biannual Financial Stability Review. The central bank said that housing picked up, as mortgage rates followed a cut to record lows of the benchmark interest rate to 2.25% in February and warned that there is a risk of a large re-pricing in the commercial property sector.
Japanese yen
The Japanese yen traded higher against the greenback on Thursday, ahead of a set of data including Household Spending, Unemployment Rate and the National Consumer Price Index. Today the BoJ said in a statement that the structural problems of the Japanese economy, including a loss of competitiveness and low demand for capital goods are getting better and that exports are likely to get a boost from the weaker yen.