Aussie Spikes on Inflation

The greenback recovered against the euro following recent sessions at record lows near the 1.60-level, but plunged to a fresh 24-year low versus the Australian dollar at 0.9540. Amid a dearth of US economic reports, traders focused on global central banks’ policy outlooks.

The US economic calendar picks up in the Thursday session with the release of March durable goods orders, weekly jobless claims and March new home sales. The headline durable goods orders report is seen flat in March, versus a 1.1% drop in February. The ex-transports durable goods orders are expected to improve to 0.4%, reversing the 2.4% decline a month earlier. Weekly jobless claims are largely unchanged, up slightly to 375k from 372k in the prior week. Meanwhile, March new home sales are expected to slip to 580k, versus 590k from February.

The euro eased off its all-time highs above the 1.60-level following comments from Luxemburg Finance Minister Juncker, who expressed unease about the euro’s strength and its potential to be detrimental to Eurozone growth. However, Germany’s Economy Minister Glos offered a contrasting view, saying “Germany’s economy is coping well so far” and was not hurt by the strengthening euro.