A busy end to the week, with a swathe of information set for publication. Most eyes will be on data emanating from the US later tonight.

The EUR/USD had quite a stable day of trading until the ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes were released. It exploded from near session lows of $1.19353 to session highs of $1.20581 in the space of four hours. It made most of its gains in the hour after the release of the minutes. It has retraced slightly, currently trading at $1.20381. The GBP/USD enjoyed a similar trading pattern as the USD weakened. It went from session lows of $1.34575 to rocket up to $1.35546. It has since come back a little, sitting at $1.35375.

The Dow went off to the races last night as it hit record highs once again, piling on more than 200 points to reach as high as 25,584.02. It is currently not far off those highs, trading at 25,577.00. The Dax copped a hammering overnight as it dropped as much as 150 points before regaining some of those losses to be sitting at 13,243.10.

Turning to events of today and all eyes will be on the US as it publishes CPI & Retail Sales data. This is crucial economic data that could have a significant bearing on the USD. Along with these figures, the US is also releasing Core CPI & Core Retail Sales data, which is just as significant. Other data set for release today includes:

US – Business Inventories, IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism

Japan – Bank Lending, Current Account, Economy Watchers Sentiment

China – Trade Balance, USD-Denominated Trade Balance, M2 Money Supply, Foreign Direct Investment, New Loans

Europe – French Final CPI, Italian Industrial Production, German Buba President Jens Weidmann speaks