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USD/JPY gained ground last week as the United States reported mostly better than expected economic numbers and with very few economic releases out of Japan. The pair began the week  trading off of its weekly low of 78.32 on Monday as risk appetite increased and the United States reported favourable Retail Sales numbers and Japan’s Revised Industrial Production fell -1.6% m/m, versus -1.3% expected. The pair continued rising on Tuesday after positive economic data out of the United States. On Wednesday, the rate traded higher as U.S. Building Permits and Housing Starts both came out better than anticipated. Thursday saw the rate continue higher, making its weekly high of 79.46 despite a rise in U.S. Initial Jobless Claims. The pair then consolidated its gains on Friday after the Japanese All Industries Activity increased by +0.1% as was anticipated, bringing USD/JPY to close at 79.29, showing an overall gain of +1.1% for the week.
 

GBP/USD continued selling off last week as the UK reported mixed economic data and the MPC Meeting Minutes revealed a unanimous decision to keep rates and the Asset Purchase Facility unchanged. The week began on a soft note with Cable consolidating at a slightly lower level on Monday after the UK Rightmove HPI increased +3.5% m/m, versus a previous reading of -0.6%, and positive U.S. Retail Sales numbers. The pair then traded higher on Tuesday as UK CPI increased +2.2% y/y as was widely anticipated, while UK PPI Input dropped -0.2% m/m, versus an expected flat reading, and UK RPI, which increased +2.6% y/y as was widely expected. Cable continued higher on Wednesday, making its weekly high of 1.6177 as the MPC Meeting Minutes showed a unanimous decision on keeping the Official Bank Rate and the Asset Purchase Facility unchanged. The minutes also unveiled the fact that members were divided as to whether to continue the Asset Purchase Facility after the program ends in November.  Economic data had the UK Claimant Count Change show a decline of -4.0K, significantly more than the -0.2K decrease that was anticipated, and the UK Unemployment Rate, which dropped to 7.9% from 8.1%. The pair then sold off on Thursday despite UK Retail Sales increasing by +0.6% m/m, versus an expected rise of +0.4%. The pair continued selling off on Friday, making its weekly low of 1.5996 after U.S. Existing Home Sales came out better than expected and despite UK Public Sector Net Borrowing coming out at 10.7B, versus 11.9B that was expected. GBP/USD went on to close the week at 1.5998, showing an overall loss of -0.4%. 
 

AUD/USD extended its previous week’s gains as the RBA Meeting Minutes for October divulged the reasons for its most recent rate cut of 25 bps. The week began with the rate consolidating after making its weekly low of 1.0201 after Australian Home Loans increased +1.8% m/m, versus +1.4% expected, and Australian New Motor Vehicle Sales, which increased by +4.7% m/m, versus a previous reading of +4.3%, revised upward from +3.6%. The pair then began trading higher on Tuesday after the RBA released it Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes for its October meeting. The minutes cited weaker domestic growth, a slowdown in the job market and falling commodities prices as the main reasons for lowering the Cash Rate.  The minutes noted that, "In response to the weaker economic outlook, further monetary stimulus had been put in place in the major advanced economies. The weaker outlook had also seen bulk commodity prices decline and, while prices for steel and iron ore had partially retraced the sharp falls that occurred over July and August, members noted that there had been a noticeable decline in the appetite for spending by Australian companies in some parts of the resources sector." The pair continued gaining on Wednesday as the Australian MI Leading Index rose +0.5% m/m, versus a previous reading of +0.3%. The rate then made its weekly high of 1.0410 on Thursday as the Australian NAB Quarterly Business Confidence index came out with a reading of -2, versus a previous print of -3. On Friday, the pair sold off somewhat bringing AUD/USD to close at 1.0326, with an overall gain of +1.0% from its previous weekly close.
 

USD/CAD extended its previous week’s gains as the Loonie was under considerable pressure after a speech by BOC Governor Mark Carney on Monday. The week began on a positive note, with the rate rising after the BOC’s Business Outlook Survey noted that, "The euro area is stagnating as it struggles with an underlying balance-of-payments crisis. The United States is at the edge of a fiscal cliff. China and other emerging markets are trying to sustain rapid growth amid weak demand in their traditional export markets." Also, BOC Governor Carney stated in a speech on Monday that, "The euro area is stagnating as it struggles with an underlying balance-of-payments crisis. The United States is at the edge of a fiscal cliff. China and other emerging markets are trying to sustain rapid growth amid weak demand in their traditional export markets. "There is a synchronous slowdown under way in the global economy. This past weekend in Tokyo, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) marked down its growth forecast, no region or major economy was spared. Further, the IMF warned that downside risks have risen." The pair continued strengthening on Tuesday despite Canadian Manufacturing Sales increasing +1.5% m/m, while Canadian Foreign Securities Purchases came out at 6.90B, versus 8.72B that was expected. Wednesday saw the rate drop sharply as asset flows favoured the Loonie over the Greenback. On Thursday, the pair recovered most of its previous day’s losses after making its weekly low of 0.9763 as Canadian Wholesale Sales increased by +0.5% m/m, versus +0.2% expected. The rate then made its weekly high of 0.9938 on Friday after Canadian Core CPI and CPI both increased by only +0.2% m/m, versus an expected +0.3% rise, bringing USD/CAD to close at 0.9934, showing an overall increase of +1.4% for the week.
 

NZD/USD showed very little change last week as the United States reported mixed economic data and with very few economic releases out of New Zealand. The week began with the rate trading at a slightly lower level on Monday as the United States reported favourable Retail Sales numbers. The pair then consolidated at a slightly higher level after making its weekly low of 0.8107 on Tuesday after New Zealand CPI increased by +0.3% q/q, versus +0.5% that was expected. The rate then rose on Wednesday despite positive housing numbers out of the United States. On Thursday, the pair made its weekly high of 0.8228 after a negative U.S. Initial Jobless Claims number before trading lower. The rate then continued lower on Friday after New Zealand Credit Card Spending increased +1.5% y/y, versus a previous reading of +1.9%, bringing NZD/USD to close at 0.8153, with a loss of only 7 pips an virtually unchanged on the week.