A stack of data is scheduled for release today in what is shaping up to be a busy one for markets.

The USD weakened overnight due to it possibly being overbought last week. The EURUSD opened the week at $1.11606 and dipped to an opening-hour low of $1.11579. The euro rallied for most of the session after that, peaking at $1.12614 late in the day. It has come off those highs slightly and is currently trading at $1.12454. The GBPUSD was a bit more uncertain but still made some gains overnight. The pair began the week at $1.26261 and climbed to $1.26602 mid-session before falling to lows of $1.26091 a few hours later. The pound bounced off those lows to climb to a high of $1.26736 late in the day. It is not far off that high, currently trading at $1.26633.

The Dow endured an uneasy start to the week before a resilient fightback saw it post some modest gains. The index started the week at 24,738.91 and dropped over 120 points in the first hour of trade. It bumbled about near those levels for a few hours, hitting a low of 24,605.40. The Dow made some gains from that point, peaking at 24,934.87 late in the day. It is near those highs at the moment, sitting at 24,890.80. The Dax reversed some early setbacks to start the week on a positive note. The German index opened at 11,622.05, which was about 80 points lower than what it closed at on Friday. After hitting a low of 11,615.60 early in the session, the Dax rallied over a large portion of the day to hit a high of 11,789.43. It came off those highs and eventually closed at 11,738.21.

The day ahead is packed with plenty of data with most interest centred around announcements from Australia. The most significant event today is the RBA’s interest rate meeting. It is widely expected that Australia’s central bank will cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a record low 1.25%. There has been some really weak economic data coming out of Australia recently which has led some to believe that the country might be headed for a recession. Crucial to this announcement is the commentary supplied by RBA Governor Philip Lowe regarding the outlook for the economy and future monetary policy settings.

Other data published today includes:

UK – Construction PMI

US – Factory Orders, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and FOMC Member John Williams speak

Australia – Cash Rate, RBA Rate Statement, Retail Sales, Current Account, RBA Governor Philip Lowe speaks

Europe – European CPI & Core CPI Flash Estimates, French Government Budget Balance, Spanish Unemployment Change, Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate, European Unemployment Rate

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