A whole swathe of data set for release today as we head into the weekend.

Currencies took off last night as both the euro and the pound added value. The EUR/USD opened at $1.15757 and looked set to struggle after posting early losses. It fell to a low of $1.15069 mid-session before rallying. Over the next few hours, it managed to erase all of those losses as it reached a high of $1.16324. It has come off those highs, but still remains above $1.16, currently trading at $1.16077. The GBP/USD has a more memorable night, buoyed by a favourable interest rate meeting. The pair opened at $1.31735 and struggled early as it sunk to lows of $1.31010. It then rocketed up over the next few hours to eventually peak at $1.32695. It is not far off those highs, currently trading at $1.32472.

The Dow had a night to forget as it struggles to find consistency. It opened at 24,670.84 and reached a high of 214,785.37 quite early. That was it for the good news as it slid for most of the session after that point. The Dow hit lows of 24,394.36 late in the session. In early morning trading the Dow sits at 24,499.00. The Dax followed the Dow in the disappointment stakes after opening at 12,715.00. It peaked during its opening hour, hitting 12,719.00. It was mainly down from there however. The Dax hit lows of 12,445.70 in the last hour of trade and closed at 12,476.30.

The day ahead is packed-full of data, with the most significant emanating from Europe. Europe is publishing a raft of PMI data that has the potential to move markets, in particular the EUR-paired currencies. The data set for release today includes:

All – OPEC Meetings

NZ – Credit Card Spending

UK – BoE Quarterly Bulletin

Japan – Flash Manufacturing PMI, All Industries Activity

US – Flash Manufacturing & Services PMIs

Canada – Retail & Core Retail Sales, CPI, Core, Common, Median and Trimmed CPIs

Europe – European, German and French Flash Manufacturing PMIs, European, German and French Flash Services PMIs, ECOFIN Meetings, Belgian NBB Business Climate

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