US Dollar Risks to Downside on Disappointing Data, S&P 500 Rallies Euro Rallies against US Dollar on S&P 500 Strength, Despite Greek Worries British Pound Approaches Resistance on Weak Dollar, Strong Sales Japanese Yen Advances as Domestic Economy Dips Back into Recession Australian Dollar Rallies as Gold and Silver Drift Higher Canadian Dollar to take cues from Bank of Canada Core CPI Results US Dollar Risks to Downside on Disappointing Data, S&P 500 Rallies The US Dollar was weaker across the board at the close of New York trade today after a negative trifecta of US economic data fueled concerns about a slowdown in global growth. Existing home sales, leading indicators, and the Philly Fed survey all disappointed to the downside, fueling speculation that the Fed will need to maintain its ultra-loose monetary stance and keep rates at record lows. The data comes on the back of weaker than expected print on existing home sales, empire manufacturing, and industrial production figures earlier in the week. The dollar, which initially saw some strength on the release, quickly pared gains falling against all the majors before the close of trade in New York. With no data on tomorrow’s economic docket, volatility should remain subdued as traders head into the weekend. Of note, technical studies on the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index suggest risks remain to the downside for the US currency heading into the week ahead. Euro Rallies against US Dollar on S&P 500 Strength, Despite Greek Worries The Euro was a top performer in a quiet day across currency markets, squeaking out a modest gain as the New York Stock Exchange saw its sixth-lowest daily volume on the year. An effectively empty euro zone economic calendar left the single currency to trade off of developments in ongoing fiscal debt crises and broader financial market risk sentiment. Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker reiterated that he is “radically against” a total restructuring of Greece’s debts and urged the Greek government to be “absolutely serious” about its consolidation efforts. The commentary had little real effect, however; the spread between the Greek 10-year government bond yield and the benchmark German Bund remained near record-highs. All in all fundamental risks favor EUR weakness, but the Euro/US Dollar currency pair has traded virtually tick-for-tick with the US S&P 500 and outlook almost certainly depends on broader ‘risk’. Limited event risk Friday suggests financial markets may see little volatility through the week’s close. British Pound Approaches Resistance on Weak Dollar, Strong Sales The sterling advanced 0.41% against the greenback today after a better than expected print on retail sales which advanced by 1.2% in April. The data topped consensus estimates calling for a print of just 0.8% m/m, while the year on year data surpassed expectations for a read 2.2%, with a print of 2.7% y/y. The report helped cool nervous investors who jettisoned the currency yesterday on dismal employment figures and a slightly dovish tone on the BoE minutes. The pound held above interim support at 1.6150 before mounting an assault on the greenback that saw the pair test the upper bound trendline of the ascending channel that has held for the past 36-hours. The sterling will encounter key resistance at the 1.6240 support level, with subsequent ceilings eyed at 1.6270 and the 1.63-handle. Support rests lower at 1.6170 backed by 1.6150 and 1.6110. Yen Advances as Domestic Economy Dips Back into Recession The yen snapped a two-day losing streak today, advancing more than 0.23% against the dollar after a flurry of negative economic data out of the US. Overnight, Japan got its own dose of dismal data with Q1 GDP figures grossly missing estimates with a print of -0.9% q/q. The annualized figure looked even bleaker with a read of -3.7%, missing calls for a contraction of just 1.9%. Although investors were widely anticipating further contraction in the isle-nation economy after the devastating earthquake that slammed the northeastern coast, the data now confirms that the domestic economy has slipped back into recession. The yen may see further weakness, as we note strengthening bond yields on the 30-yr bond which tends to track the pair well. The USD/JPY pair remains in the ascending channel formation that has held since May 5th with interim support eyed at 81.50 and 81.30. Topside targets are held at 81.70, 81.90, and 82.20. Australian Dollar Rallies as Gold and Silver Drift Higher The Australian Dollar was the third-best performer on a quiet day for forex markets, mostly tracking moves in gold and silver markets as well as the US S&P 500. The AUDUSD has tracked spot gold prices virtually tick-for-tick in the past seven days—it’s difficult to tell the charts apart when placed side-by-side. We suspect that moves in precious metals could continue to influence the Aussie dollar, while broader ‘risk’ remains the key word for the high-yielding currency. Though recent CFTC Commitment of Traders data showed a pullback in speculative AUDUSD longs, the amount of leveraged still used in AUD bets makes it particularly susceptible to sudden shifts in financial market moods. That said, limited global economic event risk points to relatively quiet trade into the weekend. Canadian Dollar to take cues from Bank of Canada Core CPI Results Traders sent the Canadian dollar modestly higher against its US namesake, but the USDCAD is likely to be put to the test on the result of upcoming Consumer Price Index inflation results. All eyes turn to the Bank of Canada Core CPI result as outlook for domestic interest rates could sway significantly on any surprises. Consensus forecasts point to a 1.6 percent year-over-year gain in core inflation—comfortably below the BoC’s stated target of 2.0 percent. Interest rate traders nonetheless predict that the Bank of Canada will be among the most aggressive global central banks in raising interest rates through the coming 12 months—a fact that has likely supported the high-flying Canadian Dollar. The distribution of analyst estimates is roughly balanced as few expect strong surprises. Said fact could make for interesting reactions out of the Canadian Dollar on the data release due at 11:00 GMT.

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