USD falls against euro even after upbeat data release

US Dollar:

The U.S. dollar fell against the euro and yen overnight after Singapore effectively revalued its currency and up¬beat U.S. data and company earnings boosted appetite for currencies such as the Australian dollar. Investors also sold the dollar as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in congressional testimony, reiterated that the central bank currently anticipates that "very low, extremely low " interest rates will be needed for an "extended period" given expectations for a moderate U.S. economic recovery. Higher rates would boost the attractiveness of U.S. assets and stoke demand for dollars to buy them. Singapore's move was seen as a mark of confidence in the economic recovery and also fueled speculation China could also allow its currency to appreciate against the dollar. Analysts said robust U.S. retail sales and strong corporate earnings also boosted risk sentiment, lift¬ing stocks and currencies perceived as benefiting from higher risk appetite such as the Canadian and Australian dollars.
DATA: Unemployment claims, Long Term Purchases and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index


Pound:

Sterling hit a seven-week high against the dollar on Wednesday, boosted by solid UK economic data, with some analysts saying the prospect of a hung parliament after May's election looked to be priced in. Strong British re¬tail sales data and a pronounced narrowing in the trade deficit on Tuesday added to a run of figures that helped to boost optimism about the UK economy, while broad losses in the greenback on Wednesday also helped sup¬port the pound. Evidence that the economy is faring better than expected has prompted a slight recovery in the pound, which has been knocked by concerns about Britain's mounting debts and uncertainty linked to the elec¬tion outcome. The pound basked in the afterglow of data showing the trade gap shrank to 6.2 billion pounds in February from more than 8 billion pounds in January, while a reading of retails sales showed a sharp rise month-on-month rise in March.
DATA: No major data released today

Euro:

A quartet of German professors is preparing a challenge to stop the EU-IMF rescue for Greece at Germany's constitutional court as soon as the mechanism is activated, claiming that it violates the 'no-bail-out' clause of the EU Treaties. The group will ask for an injunction to block the transfer of German funds until the court has ruled. It will demand a verdict on whether the European Central Bank has broken EU law by bending collateral rules to help Greece. The warning comes as fresh details emerge on the scale of the bail-out. Germany's Handelsbatt cited sources in Berlin warning that the bill may be three times as high as thought, pushing the EU share to €90bn – with an extra €15bn from the IMF.
DATA: No major data to be released today

General:

The Aussie was close to a five-month high against the greenback as Asian stocks extended a rally in the U.S. and after a report showed China’s economy grew at the fastest pace in almost three years. Demand for the so-called kiwi dollar rose after New Zealand’s manufacturing industry expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years.

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GBP/USD	1.5482
GBP/EUR	1.1373
EUR/USD	1.3612
GBP/JPY	144.45
GBP/AUD	1.6579
GBP/NZD	2.1657
GBP/ZAR	11.3582
GBP/CHF	1.6232
GBP/CAD	1.5460
GBP/SGD	2.1275
GBP/THB	49.69
GBP/HKD	12.0154 red-down; blue-up (snap shot)