It shapes up to be a busy day ahead as we look to local announcements from the RBA.

The EURUSD continues to weaken as the USD grows in strength. The pair opened the week at a high of $1.13815 and began its slide from the get-go. The euro fell throughout the day, bottoming-out at $1.13081 late in the session. It bounced off those lows and is currently trading at $1.13360. The GBPUSD held up longer than its euro counterpart but ultimately suffered the same fate. The pound opened at $1.32340 and remained flat early, bumping up to a high of $1.32537 at the start of mid-session trading. Mid-session trading saw the pound fall to a low of $1.31651. It remained near those levels during the back of the day and is currently sitting at $1.31768.

The Dow sunk overnight after a flat opening to the week. The index opened at 26,120.32 and hit a high of 26,177.33 in the opening hour. From there, the Dow traded flat throughout early and mid-session trading. The Dow tanked late in the day, falling from 26,162.02 to 25,610.30 in the space of around four hours. It has come off those lows and is currently trading at 25,813.18. The Dax was dragged down by the Dow after opening at 11,666.25. The German index ticked up to a high of 11,668.27 during the opening hour before losing around 50 points and remaining steady midway through the session. Late-session trading saw the Dax fall once again, hitting lows of 11,521.88 before closing at 11,559.70.

The day ahead sees Australia’s central bank meet to set interest rates. While rates are expected to remain on hold, the language used by Governor Philip Lowe will come into focus. As the local housing market weakens, wage growth remaining stagnant and a national election in a couple of months, it will be crucial for markets to pay attention to the RBA’s economic outlook and the future make-up of monetary policy settings.

Other data released today includes:

China – Caixin Services PMI

Australia – RBA Rate Statement

UK – Services PMI, FPC Meeting Minutes, BoE Governor Mark Carney speaks

US – Final Services PMI, ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI, New Home Sales, IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism, Federal Budget Balance, FOMC Member Eric Rosengren speaks

Europe – Swiss CPI, European, German and French Final Services PMIs, Italian and Spanish Services PMIs, European Retail Sales, SNB Governing Board Member Fritz Zurbrugg speaks

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