Commodity currencies struggle as the Japanese yen prospers

Elsewhere this week the markets have been dominated by the political uncertainty surrounding Syria. The biggest mover has been the Indian rupee, which after a difficult month nosedived this week to two-decade lows, before recovering slightly yesterday. The dive this week was triggered by a hike in global oil prices, caused by concern in the market that the Middle-Eastern situation will put a constraint on global supplies. For the same reason we saw the Canadian dollar have a strong start to the week, with crude oil being Canada’s biggest export. The Canadian currency dropped off yesterday, however, in anticipation of today’s GDP figures, which traders are betting will not be favourable. The Australian and New Zealand dollars both performed poorly this week, as anxiety in the markets sparked by the Syrian situation lowered demand for the higher-risk currencies.  Similarly we saw the Japanese yen perform well, as traders bought-in to the safe-haven currency. As mentioned, today we have influential GDP data out of Canada, but little else is forecast to be released. Get in touch for a live rate.