Dollar remains bounded in range against euro, yen and swiss franc. Yen crosses are also taking a breather after recent sharp fall. The markets are waiting for new triggers after recent volatility.
Canadian dollar is hovering around its 13 yr low at 1.4388 levels. Since the beginning of the New Year, Canadian dollar is endlessly falling against US dollar.
Canadian new housing prices rose as expected in November, mainly pushed up by active markets in the most populated city of Toronto and western Vancouver. The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) increased 0.2% during the eleventh month of 2015, after climbing 0.3% in October, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.
Market digested European Central Bank (ECB) December's meeting minutes on Thursday, which revealed that the Governing Council supported the latest round of monetary policy adjustment and some wanted even bolder measures.
From the US perspective, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time during the week of January 9 rose to 284,000, exceeding the 275,000 claims the markets had been expecting. A fresh disinflationary impulse washed up on the shores of the US economy in December due to falling prices of oil and imported goods more generally. Prices of products shipped into the US fell 1.2% in December, which is a bit less than the 1.4% drop markets had been anticipating, but still marks the biggest monthly decline in four months.
According to a Reuter's poll, economists are seeing only up to three rate hike by Fed this year, bringing the federal funds rate between 1.00% and 1.25% by the end of the year. As of yesterday, markets are only pricing in 41% chance of a rate hike in March.
In Japan, there were reports that BoJ could consider cutting its inflation outlook for fiscal 2016 due to the fall in energy prices. The central bank will meet on January 28-29 and might revise down fiscal 2016 inflation forecast to 1%, down from October's projection of 1.4%.
On the data front a bunch of economic data will be released from US today, including retail sales, PPI, Empire State Manufacturing, industrial production, business inventories and UoM Consumer sentiments.
