Australian and UK events in focus

November 21, 2017

A day packed full of data awaits traders as we turn to Australia and the UK for the most significant events.

The chart for the EUR/USD looks like a roller coaster as it went on a wild ride throughout the night. It started the evening in the low $1.17 region, getting as low as $1.17209 before climbing as high as $1.18085, before retracing all of those gains in the early hours of the morning to $1.17280. It is currently sitting at $1.17328. The GBP/USD pair also experienced some fluctuations throughout the trading session going as low as $1.31845, before climbing as high as $1.32785. It has since come back a bit where it currently sits at $1.32365.

US stocks finally showed signs of stopping the slide that has plagued it for the past week or two. The Dow surged over 150 points off its lows, after the Dow initially fell as low as 23,267.30. It reached as high as 23,451.55 before retreating back slightly off that high, where it is currently trading at 23,424.50. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ were both flat, although they did end the sessions slightly higher. The S&P 500 is currently sitting at 2583.83, while the NASDAQ is trading at 6,312.30. European stocks had a solid outing as well. The DAX at one point surged over 200 points from its low of 12,853.21, to rocket up as high as 13,085.72. It has since retreated back to 13,051.63. The FTSE added around 40 points as it closed at 7,391.50.

Gold fell off a cliff overnight, dropping from $1,294.00, down to as low as $1,274.00, before bouncing back slightly to its current level of $1,276.75.

Turning to the events of today and there are some important events emanating from Australia and the UK. Australia is releasing its Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes, while the RBA Governor Philip Low and the Assistant Governor Michele Bullock speak. The UK is also undergoing its Inflation Report Hearings, which could cause some volatility. Other announcements today and the early hours of tomorrow morning include:

NZ – Credit Card Spending, Visitor Arrivals, GDT Price Index

Japan – All Industries Activity

US – Existing Home Sales

Canada – Wholesale Sales

Europe – Swiss Trade Balance

UK – Public Sector Net Borrowing, CBI Industrial Order Expectations