USD strengthens as we await Yellen 8217 s testimony

The euro is having a more settled start this week with a offered tone to its trading, as we wait for more details in regards to the Greece bailout extensions. The latest news from Greece is that the reform plans have been received by the Eurogroup and will wait for the approval stamp.

EUR/USD is currently trading above the 1.1300 handle as the euro has a busy day ahead, with the EU CPI data release expected unchanged at -0.6%. The ECB’s President Draghi is also speaking and as usual will cause some volatility to the trading.

Out from the UK we have the inflation report hearings, where the BoE Governor and the MPC members will talk about the inflation and economic outlooks. This  will likely shape up the direction of sterling, which of late has enjoyed some strength from the weakness of the Euro. Currently, the GBP/USD is trading below the 1.5450 level with 1.55 a key breakout level.

USD/JPY has settled again above 119.00 as the dollar strengthens on preparation of the Yellen testimony today. Most reports suggest that a ‘don’t rock the boat’ approach will be used by the FED Chair, but the key points will be any mention of keeping or dropping the ‘Patience’ wording in the FOMC statement and any indication they will be raising rates within this year.

New Zealand sees a big drop in its currency overnight and the inflation expectations start to follow suit as the global economy prepares for drops due to the oil price. In the Asian session, we will be hearing from the RBNZ Governor and  there’s likely to be volatility as traders try to determine if rates will be cut due to the ease in inflation.

EUR/USD
Supports 1.1280-1.1230-1.1170  | Resistance 1.1390-1.1450-1.1500

USD/JPY
Supports  118.60-118.40-118.00 | Resistance 119.20-119.60-119.80

GBP/USD
Supports 1.5370-1.5280-1.5220 | Resistance 1.5510-1.5570-1.5660