A deluge of data from around the world should ensure more volatility this week.

The USD asserted its authority once again, sending paired currencies lower on Friday. The EUR/USD opened the day at $1.13610 and bumped up to an early high of $1.13678. The pair began to slide shortly afterwards, falling to $1.13265. It tried to mount a comeback, lifting to $1.13593 and maintaining those levels for a few hours before another fall late in the session saw the euro hit lows of $1.13149. It is not far off those lows, currently trading at $1.13223. The pound followed a similar path to the euro after opening the day at $1.30952. The GBP/USD lifted to an opening-hour high of $1.30695 the remained rather flat in early trading. Mid-session trading saw the pair dip to $1.29859 before trying to mount a rally, where it only climbed to $1.30552. Late trading saw the pound fall to lows of $1.29564. It has opened lower this morning and is currently trading at $1.29259.

The Dow had a poor end to the week after opening the day at 26,182.91. The index peaked at 26,242.10 in early trading before the rot set in. The Dow went backwards for majority of the session, tumbling to lows of 25,875.20 before closing at 25,972.10. Surprisingly, the Dax bucked the trend when it opened at 11,477.53. The German index dropped to early lows of 11,413.10 before performing a u-turn and rallying for most of the session, peaking at 11,553.80 and then closing at 11,540.80.

The week ahead is packed with data, while there are also events away from data that could cause some volatility. The main interest will be how the major political parties in the US work together in the wake of the midterm elections. It will be vital for the White House to negotiate with the Democrats in order to pass legislation, otherwise the US will delve into policy gridlock. The data released today and the most important for this week includes:

Today – Japanese Prelim Machine Tool Orders, China M2 Money Supply & New Loans, Italian Industrial Production, US Loan Officer Survey, FOMC Member Mary Daly

Tuesday – UK Average Earnings Index

Wednesday – Wage Price Index, UK CPI

Thursday – US CPI & Core CPI, Australian Employment Change & Unemployment Rate, UK Retail Sales, Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks

Friday – Us Retail & Core Retail Sales, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ECB President Mario Draghi speaks

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