USD

After trading in the red overnight, the Greenback has clawed its way back into positive territory this morning as Wall Street enters the fray. With another relatively light day on the economic calendar, markets are fixated on the highly anticipated Jackson Hole Symposium beginning on Thursday in hopes of gaining more insight from the Fed regarding the future path of US interest rates.

Coming up today, US existing home sales and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index are set for release at 10:00 AM EST. Additionally, there will be commentary from Fed officials Michelle Bowman and Austan Goolsbee later this afternoon.

EUR

The Euro is inching lower today ahead of tomorrow's August Eurozone PMI data and the Jackson Hole Symposium later this week. As of today, markets are pricing in around a 70% chance of a 0.25% ECB rate hike in September, but Euro traders will look ahead to Friday's insights from ECB President Christine Lagarde, who is set to speak at the Symposium.

Earlier, the Eurozone posted a surplus of EUR 36.8B in its current account in June, a big turnaround from a EUR 4.4B deficit in June 2022. It was the largest surplus in nearly two years, mainly due to a significant surplus in goods trade.

GBP

After closing nearly 0.2% higher against the Dollar yesterday, the British Pound is modestly lower this morning following the release of UK manufacturing and borrowing numbers earlier today.

The CBI survey reported a decline in the total UK order book balance to -15 in August, below market expectations of -13, while the output for the past three months fell sharply to -19, the lowest since September 2020, with the car and mechanical engineering industries notably underperforming.

Meanwhile, the UK's public sector net borrowing, excluding banks, came in at GBP 4.3B in July, below market expectations of GBP 5.0B, with increased spending driven by government investment and higher debt interest, partially offset by increased tax receipts.

JPY

The Japanese Yen is strengthening this morning following yesterday's nearly 0.6% decline versus the Greenback – its worst daily performance in almost two weeks. Today's rebound comes amid reports that BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, although the latter stated that the Yen's volatility was not discussed.

On the data front, Japan's preliminary Jibun Bank PMIs for August are slated for release at 8:30 PM EST, with the Manufacturing PMI expected to come in at 49.5, its ninth consecutive month of contraction since October 2022 and roughly in line with the July reading of 49.6.

CAD

After failing to hold on to yesterday's early gains and registering its sixth-straight losing day, the Loonie is back in the green this morning but still hovering near its lowest levels since June 1.  

The Canadian calendar is empty today, so CAD traders will focus on tomorrow's retail sales release at 8:30 AM EST. Markets expect monthly retail sales to have stagnated in June after rising 0.2% in May. When excluding auto sales, market forecasts point to a 0.3% increase after coming in flat in May.

Looking ahead, Canadian manufacturing and wholesale sales are scheduled for release on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

MXN

The Mexican Peso is rallying this morning, up nearly 0.5% versus the Dollar and on pace for its fifth-consecutive winning day as risk sentiment improves. With the latest moves, the Peso is looking for momentum to carry it back toward the nearly-eight-year low it tested on July 28.

While the Banxico meeting minutes, along with the inflation and GDP reports due out of Mexico this week, will have a significant say in the next move for the Peso, MXN traders will also be keeping an eye on the Jackson Hole Symposium as they seek clues from Fed Chair Jerome Powell as to which central bank will blink first.

BRL

The Brazilian Real is up over 0.6% against the Greenback this morning and trading at a one-week high as the easing risk aversion this morning provides a boost across most LATAM currencies. The Real is on pace for its best day since August 4 if it can sustain the rally.

With the economic calendar quiet in Brazil, a key focus for BRL traders will be the BRICS summit in South Africa, commencing today. One of the key discussion topics will be the possible expansion of the bloc. While China and Russia are notable advocates for expansion, India and Brazil have voiced concerns.

CNY

After closing in the green yesterday, the Chinese Yuan is on the back foot this morning, down around 0.3%, and remaining pinned near the nine-month low it tested last week. The pullback comes despite overall market sentiment improving and the PBOC setting its strongest daily fix versus expectations since June.

With China's economic calendar essentially empty until next week's PMI release on August 30, CNY traders will monitor any headlines surrounding China's property sector situation and potential fiscal support, as well as news from the BRICS summit and Jackson Hole Symposium that could affect the Yuan.