All eyes on US data
A much busier day for markets, with economic data and political events around the world enough to keep markets on edge.
The EURUSD continued to edge down overnight as the USD gathers momentum. The pair began the day at $1.10889 and remained rather flat during early trading, bumping up to a high of $1.10970 mid-session. The euro then fell over the next few hours to hit lows of $1.10724 but has since recovered, currently trading at $1.10838. The GBPUSD endured a wild ride yesterday as the Brexit saga took another dramatic turn. The pair opened at $1.22842 and edged up to highs of $1.22908 in the opening hour of the day. The pound steadied for a several hours before Brexit dramas sent the currency packing, sinking to a low of $1.21549 mid-session. It recovered a large chunk of those losses in during the back end of the day and is currently trading at $1.22176.
The Dow bounced back to life overnight, shaking off trade concerns that continue to linger. The index began the day at 25,768.33 and lifted in early trading before dropping to lows of 25,633.74 mid-session. Rather than continuing to trend down, the Dow rebounded and surged back over the 26,000 mark to peak at 26,059.55. It has come off those highs slightly and is now trading at 25,990.21. The Dax continues to underwhelm as Brexit and Italian political concerns weigh it down. The German index opened at 11,711.70 and bumped up to a high of 11,724.43 not long after the open. It started its decline shortly afterwards, eventually falling to lows of 11,566.87. To its credit however, it pegged back a lot of those losses before closing at 11,688.73.
The day ahead shapes up as a busy one, with plenty of data set for release. The most significant data published today in the US Prelim GDP. This annualised figure, released quarterly, measures economic growth within the economy. It is forecast to show 2% growth, down slightly from the 2.1% at the last reading.
The Brexit saga rolls on, with the Queen approving UK PM Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend the parliament in the lead up to the Brexit deadline. This means there will be less sitting days for the UK parliament to discuss the latest Brexit proposal. Critics have come out and said the PM is just trying to get a deal done or exit without a deal with as little scrutiny as possible. The move has been seen by markets as an increased likelihood that the UK will exit without a deal, which is why the GBP plummeted.
Data published today includes:
Canada – Current Account
NZ – ANZ Business Confidence
Japan – Consumer Confidence
Australia – Private Capital Expenditure
Europe – German Prelim CPI & Unemployment Change, French Prelim GDP & Consumer Spending, Spanish Flash CPI
US – Good Trade Balance, Prelim GDP Price Index, Prelim Wholesale Inventories, Unemployment Claims, Pending Home Sales, Natural Gas Storage, Building Consents
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