US data in focus

August 28, 2018

A relatively quiet day for announcements but there is still some significant data emanating from the US.

Major currencies rallied against the USD overnight. The EUR/USD opened at $1.16132 and climbed early to $1.16527. It then began to slide over the ensuing hours to hit a low of $1.15933. The pair remain near those lows for a couple of hours before beginning its rally, where it reached highs of $1.16929 late. It is not far off those highs, trading at $1.16794. The pound followed a similar path to the euro after opening at $1.28356. The pair climbed to $1.28647, steadied, then fell to lows of $1.28278. The GBP/USD bounced back in a big way, marching its way to a high of $1.29003 late in the session. Like the euro, the pound is not far off those highs, currently trading at $1.28925.

The Dow powered through yesterday’s session after opening at 25,803.14. The index dipped to a low of 25,795.05 in the first hour of trade, then began its climb. After regaining those slight losses, it remained stable in early and mid-session trading. The Dow took off after that, rallying into the close to peak at 26,086.15. It has opened higher again, currently trading at 26,096.40. The Dax was buoyed by a strong Dow, closing higher as well. The German index opened at 12,434.74 and dipped to a low of 12,428.00 early before turning it all around and rallying for the rest of the session. The Dax climbed to a high of 12,564.40 late in the session but was unable to hold onto that high as it closed at near-highs of 12,550.50.

The day ahead is a quiet one for announcements, with the most significant piece of information released being the US Conference Board (CB) Consumer Confidence figure. As the name suggests, this reflects consumer confidence within the country. This is important as consumer confidence can impact consumer spending within the economy, therefore impacting inflation and economic growth. Other data set for publication today includes:

Japan – BoJ Core CPI

UK – BRC Shop Price Index

Europe – M3 Money Supply, Private Loans

US – Richmond Manufacturing Index, S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI, Prelim Wholesale Inventories, Goods Trade Balance

 

 

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