Take a look at the current currency pair rates below:
GBP/JPY: Lowest 131.90 Highest 132.50 Current 132.32-37
EUR/JPY: Lowest 112.85 Highest 113.50 Current 113.26-31
USD/JPY: Lowest 81.75 Highest 82.08 Current 81.91-94
GBP/USD: Lowest 1.6119 Highest 1.6158 Current 1.6153-56
EUR/USD: Lowest 1.3794 Highest 1.3840 Current 1.3826-29
USD/CHF: Lowest 0.9227 Highest 0.9272 Current 0.9261-64
AUD/USD: Lowest 1.0085 Highest 1.0138 Current 1.0131-34
AUD/JPY: Lowest 82.51 Highest 83.06 Current 83.00-05
Welcome back gang!!! (lol) It's Friday...time to enjoy. Those in the Tokyo area are experiencing a taste of spring today with that warm temperature outside.
Tonight there are quarterly announcements from Great Britain at 6:30 PM & the U.S. at 10:30 PM (both times UTC+9). Great Britain's National Statistics will announce the results of its Revised GDP. It is expected to remain unchanged from the previous quarter at -0.5%. Since it is expected to stay negative, any result above -0.5% may significantly strengthen the GBP. Below are 2 charts that illustrate the results of last quarter's announcement on November 24, 2010.
GBP/JPY 30 min. chart; 32-point fluctuation (within 1st 30 min. only)
GBP/USD 30 min. chart; 61-point drop (1st 1.5 hrs.)
Although the actual result was the same as the forecast (0.8%), the GBP weakened because expectations were higher.
As for the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, they are expected to announce a Preliminary GDP that will increase 0.1% from last quarter. The November 23, 2010 announcement showed an increase of 0.3% allowing the USD to strengthen for the most part except against the JPY at that time.
GBP/USD 30 min. chart; 29-point drop (1st 30 min. )/179-point drop (6 hrs. after announcement)
EUR/USD 30 min. chart; 44-point drop (1st 30 min.)/144-point drop (3 hrs. after announcement)
USD/JPY 30 min. chart; 66-point drop {different pattern from GBP/USD & EUR/USD}
Also, keep an eye out for what the USD announcements are & compare them with the latest updates on New Zealand events.
*The USD/CHF reached its lowest level in its history and is currently working its way back upwards.