A busy day ahead for announcements, with focus shifting to the US once again.

The EUR/USD strengthened yet again overnight. The pair opened at $1.16762 and remained steady early before dipping to a low of $1.16615. The euro bounced off that low and climbed over the next several hours to a high of $1.17328. It could not hold onto those highs however, falling back late and currently trading at $1.16934. The pound looked like following the euro, but actually weakened late in the session. The GBP/USD opened at $1.28888, climbed to $1.29006 and then fell to session lows of $1.28607. It rallied off those lows, peaking at $1.29312 later in the session. It fell away from those highs however, sinking to a near session low of $1.28636. It is not far off those lows, currently trading at $1.28671.

The Dow remained quite flat, taking a breather from its recent rallies. The index opened at 26,082.01 and traded in a fairly tight range for most of the session. It managed to climb to a high of 26,150.37 later in the session before quickly giving up those gains and falling to lows of 26,034.04 very late in the day. It has bounced off those highs, currently trading at 26,085.90. The Dax began the session in promising fashion, climbing from its opening price of 12,552.44 and rallying to a high of 12,597.30 early in the session. It gave up those highs and slowly declined until it bottomed-out at 12,515.60. The German index closed at 12,530.50.

The day ahead brings with it a number of data releases, none more significant than the US Prelim GDP figure. As this figure reflects economic growth, this generates intense market interest and has the potential to cause market volatility. Keep an eye on the Dow, S&P 500, NASDAQ and USD-paired currencies. Other data set for release today includes:

Australia – HIA New Home Sales

Canada – Current Account

Japan – Consumer Confidence, Retail Sales

NZ – Building Consents

US – Prelim GDP Price Index, Pending Home Sales, Crude Oil Inventories

Europe – German GfK Consumer Climate, French Prelim GDP, French Consumer Spending, Credit Suisse Economic Expectations

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