FX Closing Comments

FX pairs were especially quiet today. As Ben Bernanke finished his solid, though uneventful, testimony to the Senate, traders were left with only the surprisingly firm housing starts number from this morning as a reference. The big housing starts number was, however, largely dismissed. Many analysts were quite to dismiss the number as resulting from an unseasonable mild winter. Many expect some compensation in the February and March numbers. All told, traders were cautious to use the data as a sign of a resurgent housing market (and buy dollars). The U.S. trading week is set to end with the Michigan sentiment survey and the January PPI figures.