Another day packed with activity which is likely to cause volatility in some markets.

The USD strengthened overnight, pushing paired currencies down. The EURUSD open the week at $1.09417 and remained rather steady early, bumping up to a high of $1.09471 mid-session. It gave up those gains shortly after however, falling to lows of $1.08837 a few hours later. It has come of those lows but is struggling to maintain $1.09, currently trading at $1.08979. The GBPUSD opened and closed rather flat, but there were some movements in between. The pound began the week at $1.22892 and was steady early, before picking up momentum mid-session to peak at $1.23459. The gains were short-lived however as the pound dropped to lows of $1.22744 late in the day. It has come off those lows and is now trading at $1.22884.

The Dow had an uneasy start to the week, although it managed to squeeze out a modest gain. It started the week at 26,939.58 ad traded in a tight range early before dipping to a low of 26,844.70 mid-session. It climbed off those lows, hitting a high of 27,007.97 late in the day. It is not far off those highs, currently trading at 26,993.06. The Dax made some decent gains overnight after opening at 12,365.80. The German index dipped to lows of 12,342.90 early in the day but then rallied over the majority of the session, peaking at 12,441.75 then closing at 12,422.57.

The day ahead sees a swathe of data being released, while Australia’s central bank holds its latest interest rate meeting. It is widely tipped that the RBA will cut interest rates by 25 basis points to a record low of 0.75%. Global headwinds and weak inflation have been spoken about as reasons behind the expected cut.

Other data published today includes:

Canada – GDP, Manufacturing PMI

Japan – Final Manufacturing PMI, Monetary Base

UK – Manufacturing PMI, Nationwide HPI, BRC Shop Price Index

Australia – Cash Rate, RBA Rate Statement, Commodity Prices, RBA Governor Philip Lowe speaks

Europe – European, German and French Final Manufacturing PMIs, Italian, Spanish and Swiss Manufacturing PMIs, Swiss CPI & Core CPI Flash Estimates, German Buba President Jens Weidmann speaks

US – ISM Manufacturing PMI, Final Manufacturing PMI, ISM Manufacturing Prices, Construction Spending, Wards Total Vehicle Sales, FOMC Members, James Bullard, Richard Clarida, Charles Evans and Michelle Bowman speak

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