Percent annual pace during March

continuing jobless claim may have hit another record high of 5893k during the week ending April 4. Finally, the Philadelphia Fed’s survey of manufacturing sector conditions is anticipated to have risen to -32 in April from -35, which would still mark a contraction in activity, albeit a less aggressive one.Euro Loses Nearly 1% Against British Pound on Divergent ECB, BOE Rate ExpectationsThe euro generally ended the day lower on Wednesday, as the currency lost ground to majors like the US dollar, Australian dollar, British pound, and Canadian dollar. Meanwhile, the British pound was the second-strongest of the day, losing out only to the Canadian dollar. Once again, there really wasn’t much in the way of fundamental news to drive price action for either the euro or British pound, but there were a few high-profile comments that have the potential to shape interest rate expectations for the European Central Bank (ECB). ECB Governing Council member Axel Weber said the bank needs to establish a floor for the benchmark lending rate, and has also indicated that he would prefer to not cut rates below 1 percent. Meanwhile, ECB Governing Council member Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said that they could cut rates further, and that “it should not be forgotten that there are ways to use non-conventional measures” which they “are going to discuss this at the next board meeting.” All told, these clues that the ECB will move to make monetary policy more accommodative in May adds to downside risks for the euro, especially against the British pound since the Bank of England has suggested they will leave rates at 0.50 percent going forward.Looking ahead to Thursday’s European event risk, Eurostat inflation estimates for the Euro-zone have shown that CPI may have fallen to a 0.6 percent annual pace during March, which would mark the lowest since recordkeeping began in 1991