USD Edges Lower -- Durable Goods and Labor Data Are Mixed

THE TAKEAWAY: UK 2Q GDP prints in line with expectations > US Durable Goods Orders beat expectations > US Initial Jobless Claims come in slightly worse than expected

Today was the most eventful economic day in light of a relatively subdued week. First in Asia-Pacific, The Reserve Bank of New Zealand decided to leave the Official Cash Rate at 2.50%. RBNZ Gov. Wheeler stated that “The extent of the monetary policy response will depend largely on the degree to which the growing momentum in the housing market and construction sector spills over into inflation pressures. Although removal of monetary stimulus will likely be needed in the future, we expect to keep the OCR unchanged through the end of the year.”

In Europe, UK 2Q’2013 GDP came in line with expectations: +1.4% y/y actual; +1.4% Bloomberg News survey expected.

In North America, US Durable Goods Orders beat expectations: +4.2% June m/m actual; +1.4% Bloomberg News survey expected. However the durable goods numbers were largely boosted by the volatile transportation sector. Durable Goods Orders Ex-Transportation missed expectations: +0.0% June m/m actual; +0.5% Bloomberg News survey expected. Lastly, Initial Jobless Claims came in slightly worse: 343K actual; 340K Bloomberg News survey expected.

AUDUSD 15-minute Chart: July 25, 2013

Charts Created using Marketscope – prepared by Kevin Jin

The AUDUSD is slightly higher by +0.28% at the time of writing. After a selloff near Asian Open, the pair has been trending higher since.

GBPUSD 15-minute Chart: July 25, 2013

Charts Created using Marketscope – prepared by Kevin Jin

The GBPUSD made a run up before the GDP print, but is net lower today by -0.13%. Interestingly, the pair sharply sold off when the GDP print came in line with the Bloomberg News survey consensus.

EURUSD 15-minute Chart: July 24, 2013

Charts Created using Marketscope – prepared by Kevin Jin

The EURUSD is slightly higher by +0.20% at the time of writing. The pair quickly sold off near London Open before rebounding just as quickly around 10:00 GMT.

USDJPY 15-minute Chart: July 25, 2013

Charts Created using Marketscope – prepared by Kevin Jin

The USDJPY is weaker by -0.61% at the time of writing, only outpaced by the NZD. The pair has broadly trended lower throughout all sessions of trading.

— Written by Kevin Jin, DailyFX Research

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USD Edges Lower -- Durable Goods and Labor Data Are Mixed