UK data eyed, EU meeting begins

October 17, 2018

A host of data set for release today should ensure more volatility.

The EUR/USD opened and closed rather flat but endured some swings in between. The pair opened at $1.15782 and remained steady early before climbing to $1.15979. The pair then dropped to lows of $1.15648 mid-session before rebounding and rallying to highs of $1.16208 a few hours later. Those gains were short-lived as the euro pulled back in late trading. It is not far off yesterday’s opening price, currently trading at $1.15733. The GBP/USD fared much better than its euro counterpart after opening at $1.31511. The pair remained flat early, dipping to lows of $1.31393 at the start of mid-session trading. The pound then rallied over the next several hours, climbing to a high of $1.32357 before giving up some of those gains to be currently trading at $1.31873.

Indices took off last night, shaking off a poor week last week and an indifferent start to this week. The Dow opened at 25,193.49 and dipped to an opening-hour low of 25,178.15. From there, it was basically all one way – up. The index rallied on the back of strong earnings data from the US banks, surging to a high of 25,814.61, or over 600 points. It has managed to hold onto most of those gains, the Dow currently trading at 25,760.40. The Dax, inspired by a surging Dow, rallied for most of the session as well. The German index opened at 11,639.95 and dipped to a low of 11,600.10 in the second hour of the session. It then rallied until it peaked at 11,814.90 in the final hour of trade and then closed at 11,804.10.

The day ahead is set to be another big one, with plenty of data being released. This is headlined by the CPI figure from the UK. Expectations for this year-on-year figure is for a rise of 2.6%, down from 2.7% that was posted in the last reading. The EU will also be hosting their Economic Summit over the next two days. All matter of economic issues will be discussed at this summit, including Brexit negotiations, which could bring its own market volatility. Other data scheduled for release include:

Canada – Manufacturing Sales

Europe – Final CPI & Final Core CPI, German Buba President Jens Weidmann speaks

UK – Core CPI, RPI, PPI Input & Output, HPI, FPC Meeting Minutes, CB Leading Index, MPC Member Ben Broadbent speaks

US – FOMC Meeting Minutes, Building Permits, Housing Starts, Crude Oil Inventories, FOMC Member Lael Brainard speaks

 

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