Forex Today: Major pairs trade in familiar ranges ahead of US PMI data
|Here is what you need to know on Friday, November 24:
Action in financial markets turned subdued on Thursday as trading conditions remained thin on Thanksgiving Day. Early Friday, major currency pairs continue to trade in familiar ranges. S&P Global Manufacturing and Services PMI data will be featured in the US economic docket ahead of the weekend. Stock and bond markets in the US will operate for half-day.
Following a two-day rebound, the US Dollar (USD) Index posted small losses on Thursday as the upbeat PMI readings from Germany, the Euro area and the UK allowed European currencies to find demand. At the time of press, the USD Index was virtually unchanged on the day at 103.70.
US Dollar price this week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | -0.02% | -0.62% | -0.17% | -0.73% | -0.35% | -1.03% | -0.22% | |
| EUR | 0.03% | -0.61% | -0.16% | -0.71% | -0.33% | -1.02% | -0.20% | |
| GBP | 0.62% | 0.61% | 0.45% | -0.10% | 0.28% | -0.40% | 0.40% | |
| CAD | 0.17% | 0.15% | -0.45% | -0.56% | -0.17% | -0.85% | -0.05% | |
| AUD | 0.74% | 0.71% | 0.13% | 0.58% | 0.40% | -0.28% | 0.52% | |
| JPY | 0.35% | 0.32% | -0.51% | 0.18% | -0.39% | -0.70% | 0.13% | |
| NZD | 1.02% | 1.02% | 0.41% | 0.87% | 0.30% | 0.68% | 0.81% | |
| CHF | 0.22% | 0.20% | -0.40% | 0.05% | -0.51% | -0.13% | -0.81% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
The data from New Zealand showed earlier in the day that Retail Sales ex Autos rose by 1% on a quarterly basis in the third quarter, bettering the market expectation for a contraction of 1.5%. NZD/USD edged slightly higher after this data and was last seen trading marginally higher on the day at around 0.6050.
Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI in Japan declined to 48.1 in November while the Services PMI edged higher to 51.7 from 51.6. Other data from Japan revealed that the National Consumer Price Index climbed to 3.3% on a yearly basis in October from 3% in September. USD/JPY declined to 149.20 during the Asian trading hours but managed to stage a rebound toward 149.50 heading into the European session.
EUR/USD fluctuated in a narrow range slightly above 1.0900 on Thursday and extended its sideways grind early Friday. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde will be delivering a speech later in the day but she is not expected to comment on the policy or the economic outlook. Germany's Ifo Economic Institute will release the findings of the business sentiment survey for November as well.
After climbing to a fresh multi-week high above 1.2570 early Thursday, GBP/USD erased a small portion of its gains but closed in positive territory. Early Friday, the pair stays in a consolidation phase below 1.2550.
Gold ended the day flat slightly above $1,990 on Thursday and failed to gather directional momentum early Friday.
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