iFOREX Daily Analysis : September 03, 2015

 | Sep 03, 2015 06:17AM ET

The dollar moved higher on Wednesday, against most major currencies, despite the release of disappointing economic reports from the U.S., as concerns over China's economic outlook began to ease. In the U.S., Payroll processing firm ADP said non-farm private employment rose by 190,000 last month, below expectations for an increase of 201,000. In addition, the 185,000 created in July were downwardly revised to 177,000. Data also showed that U.S. factory orders increased by 0.4% in July, below forecasts for a gain of 0.9%. The dollar was steady against the pound, with GBP/USD at 1.5305 and extended gains against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF rallying 1.16% to 0.9693. The Australian dollar was steady while NZD/USD gained 0.49% to 0.6358. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the country's gross domestic product rose 0.2% in the three months to June, compared to expectations for a 0.4% growth rate. On a yearly basis, Australia's GDP increased by 2.0% in the second quarter, disappointing expectations for a 2.2% gain. The main U.S. stock indices posted a recovery together with crude oil prices after a sharp drop posted on Tuesday, after reports of strong growth in the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book". For today, the U.K. is to report on service sector activity, the euro zone is to release data on retail sales. The European Central Bank is to announce its monetary policy decision and the rate announcement will be followed by a post-policy meeting press conference with President Mario Draghi. In the U.S. front data on trade balance, jobless claims and the ISM report on service sector growth are due later in the day.

EUR/USD

The EUR/USD pair fell sharply on Wednesday after three days of consecutive gains, despite weak employment and factory order data and ahead of a critical meeting of European monetary policy officials on Thursday that could provide signals on the long-term direction of inflation in the eurozone. The pair fluctuated between 1.1210 and 1.13 on Wednesday and finally ended the day 0.80% lower. In today’s meeting investors will be looking for signals from ECB head Mario Draghi on the extend of the bank's €60 billion a month quantitative easing program, which was launched in March. For today, market attention will be shifted towards the European Central Bank monetary policy decision and the rate announcement which will be followed by a post-policy meeting press conference with President Mario Draghi. In the U.S. front data on trade balance, the jobless claims report and the ISM service sector growth are due later in the day.