There’s a smorgasbord of significant economic data set for release today as we head into the Easter holiday period.

The EURUSD looked set for a strong showing until mid-session trading saw a reversal of a large chunk of those gains. The pair opened at $1.12785 and dipped to an early low of $1.12778 before rallying throughout early and mid-session trading. The euro peaked at $1.13229 mid-session before falling through the back half of the day, giving up a chunk of its previous gains. It is currently trading at $1.12964. The GBPUSD weakened overnight after a promising start to the session. The pair opened at $1.30437 and climbed to a high of $1.30668 early in the session. Those highs were quickly given up as the pound weakened, hitting lows of $1.30275 heading into late-session trading. It is not far off those lows, currently trading at $1.30369.

The Dow opened and closed rather flat overnight but there were some movements in between. The index opened at 26,449.14 and climbed steadily in the first half of the day, peaking at 26,527.33. Late trading saw the Dow fall to a low of 26,394.54 before recovering slightly. It is currently trading at 26,430.69. The Dax continues its strong run of late, seemingly breaking off the shackles that has kept it in a malaise for so long. The German index opened at 12,120.38 and dipped to an early low of 12,101.66. It rallied of that low, rising to a high of 12,211.30 before closing at 12,188.42.

The day ahead contains plenty of significant data as countries release figures before the Easter holiday period. The most crucial economic data is the Retail & Core Retail Sales figures from the US. Retail Sales are expected to grow by 0.9% (vs -0.2% at last reading), while Core Retail Sales are expected to grow by 0.7% (vs -0.4% at last reading). There are also plenty of markets closed on Friday and Monday due to the upcoming public holidays.

Other data set for publication include:

UK – Retail Sales, BoE Credit Conditions Survey

Canada – Retail & Core Retail Sales, ADP Non-Farm Employment Change

Australia – Employment Change, Unemployment Rate, NAB Quarterly Business Confidence

US – Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, Unemployment Claims, Flash Manufacturing & Services PMIs, Business Inventories, CB Leading Index, Natural Gas Storage

Europe – Swiss Trade Balance, German PPI, European, German and French Flash Manufacturing PMIs, European, German and French Flash Services PMIs

Friday Public Holidays – NZ, Australia, Switzerland, Germany UK and Canada

Monday Public Holidays – NZ, Australia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Italy, UK

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