EUR/USD
EUR/USD down 0.19% to 1.2486. The pair rose to a three week high of 1.2568 on Tuesday after data showed that the closely watched ZEW index of German economic sentiment improved to its highest level since May this month. The Fed still seems keen to start raising U.S. rates by mid-2015. However, with inflation still well below its 2 percent target and likely to dip further as fuel prices fall, investors are wagering that any hike will only add to the disin flationary impulse in the economy.
GBP/USD
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5712 from around 1.5717 ahead of the release of the data, The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate held steady at 6.0% in the three months to October, compared to expectations for a tick down to 5.9%. The number of people in the U.K. claiming unemployment benefits fell by 26,900 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 21,200.
AUD/USD
The Australian dollar fell from highs near 0.8270 to around 0.8200 and traded near 0.8210 in late trade. US Central bankers meeting today may say they're monitoring markets carefully as Russia's currency collapse threatens to destabilize other regions.
USD/JPY
The Japanese yen traded between 115.65 yen per US dollar to ¥117.65 and was near ¥117.25 in late US trade. This morning the yen dipped to 116.61 as the greenback recovered some of yesterday's losses. Japanese exports undershot expectations in November despite the effects of a weaker yen, but rose for the third straight month suggesting a pick-up in global demand. Exports rose 4.9 percent on year, below expectations for a 7 percent rise in a Reuters poll and down from October's 9.6 percent increase. Imports decline 1.7 percent, below expectations for a 1.7 percent rise and down from October's 2.7 percent rise.
Data Update for 17th Dec 2014