The US dollar continued to lose ground yesterday as the
market didn’t seem to take to the temporary solution to the US debt ceiling.

Adding to the downbeat sentiment on the US dollar, the
number of people filing for jobless claims only fell by 15,000 instead of the
38,000 that the market had been anticipating. The data is disappointing and
still doesn’t point to an improving situation with regards to the US job
market.

The US dollar continued to lose ground yesterday as the
market didn’t seem to take to the temporary solution to the US debt ceiling.

Adding to the downbeat sentiment on the US dollar, the
number of people filing for jobless claims only fell by 15,000 instead of the
38,000 that the market had been anticipating. The data is disappointing and
still doesn’t point to an improving situation with regards to the US job
market.

Now that the government shutdown has ended, a back log of
economic data is set to be released next week, which will help gauge the state
of the US economy. Of key focus will be the delayed non-farm payroll figures
for September, which is expected to show an extra 180,000 jobs were added. This
will of course have a bearing on the arguments for tapering quantitative
easing, so we will need to see how much support the data can provide for the US
dollar.

From the UK yesterday, retail sales for the month of
September rose more than expected to 0.6%, suggesting strong consumer demand
which should aid growth for the UK economy. The data continued to support the
pound as markets maintain their positive stance on the currency.

Data from China last night has bought in some investor
appetite today, with their economy growing by 7.8% for the third quarter, rising
from 7.5% in the second quarter. The growth was driven by stronger demand from
overseas and within China.

Data is pretty sparse today, with only inflationary figures
coming out from Canada.

Key Announcements:

13.30pm – CAD – Consumer Price Index (Sep): Expected to rise
to 0.1% from August.