Uncut sheets of U.S. five-dollar bills with the image of President Abraham Lincoln
IN PHOTO: Uncut sheets of U.S. five-dollar bills with the image of President Abraham Lincoln are inspected through a magnifying glass at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., March 26, 2015. On April 15 the United States commemorates the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Events will include the re-enactment of his funeral in Springfield, Illinois, as well as talks and plays at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C., where Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth shot him in 1865. Lincoln, who kept the Union together in the American Civil War and helped secure the end of slavery, has enduring appeal both in the United States and worldwide: his life is celebrated at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., five-dollar bills carry his image and Stephen Spielberg directed the 2012 film bearing the 16th president's name. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Consolidation appeared to be the name of the game for markets overnight as UK, US and much of Europe wind down for the forthcoming bank holiday weekend.

Australia: AUD moves will be dictated offshore today, trading in a 40 point range overnight and opens this morning close to 0.7900. The AUD struggled despite CRB closing 0.8% higher. Iron ore was down for an eighth straight session to USD 57.60. A relatively quiet data lies ahead as far as scheduled data is concerned with no local AU data. NZ has its May ANZ Consumer Confidence report.

Majors: The USD remains the focus with a speech by Chair Yellen on the economic outlook and April CPI figures holding risks for long USD positioning. Overnight the US data revealed the four week moving average of jobless claims fell 5,500 last week to 266,250. This was the lowest reading since April 2000, though this was offset by weak factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region and an unexpected fall in U.S. home resales in May. The BoJ holds minor risks to weaken JPY. German IFO is unlikely to break EUR stability as the ECB appears to be clear in its view that it will continue its QE program until at least September 2016 and our Asian colleagues expect additional policy easing in China. NZD has positioning risks and GBP found support from solid pre-election retail spending in the UK, April retail sales rising by 1.2% against expectations of a 0.4% increase.

Economic Calendar 22 MAY

  • JN Bank of Japan Policy Statement
  • GE GDP SA QoQ 1Q
  • US CPI YoY Apr
  • US Markit US Manufacturing PMI May

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