The snapshot today is that the dollar is down against the commodity currencies but higher against the European currencies and the Japanese yen. The poor PMI data in Europe and UK are proving to be the bane for the euro and pound respectively, while the BOJ failing to walk the talk is weighing on the yen.

In a case of bad news is good news, the continued weakness in the euro area and UK economies are putting a stop to the bond selling and US futures are able to trade more sideways on the session – holding slight gains. That being said, Wall Street tends to have a mind of its own and higher yields in the bigger picture are still a cause for concern for stocks.

EUR/USD is one to keep an eye out for ahead of the weekend, with the pair testing key support at 1.0635 currently:

Meanwhile, USD/JPY is up 0.5% to 148.25 while GBP/USD is down 0.3% to 1.2250 levels at the moment.

The commodity currencies are the ones leading the way today with USD/CAD down 0.2% to 1.3450, helped out by higher oil prices with WTI crude returning above $90. And AUD/USD is also up 0.4% to 0.6440 in what has been a rather back and forth week for the pair – up just a measly 13 pips on the week at its current level.

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.