Plenty of data is scheduled for release this week, with the US and China taking up most of the headlines.

The EURUSD was rather flat on Friday after opening at $1.19112. The pair edged up to a high of $1.19196 early before falling away for a large chunk of the session, hitting lows of $1.18663 late. It bounced off those lows, closing at $1.19005. It is now trading at $1.18961. The GBPUSD began the day at $1.37300 and ticked up to a high of $1.37501 early. It dropped to lows of $1.36689 a few hours later. A brief bounce back was met with another decline, with the pound end the week at $1.36963, where it is currently trading.

Indices ended the week strongly, with the Dow and Dax finishing Friday higher. The Dow started Friday at 33,580.98 and slipped to lows of 33,504.17 early. From there it began a steady climb up where it hit a high of 33,816.56 late. It has come off those highs and is now trading at 33,746.30. Over in Europe and the Dax opened at 15,246.83 and fell to lows of 15,167.39 mid-session. Those lows were not held for long as the Dax rebounded, rallying to a late high of 15,273.73. At present, it is trading at 15,244.50.

The week ahead sees the publication of a stack of data, with the US and China coming into focus. The US will be publishing inflation and sales figures, while China will be reporting trade information.

Data published today and the most significant this week includes:

Today – European Retail Sales, BoC Business Outlook Survey

Tuesday – US CPI & Core CPI, China Trade Balance, UK GDP

Wednesday – NZ Official Cash Rate, RBNZ Rate Statement

Thursday – US Retail & Core Retail Sales, Unemployment Claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, Australian Employment Change and Unemployment Rate

Friday – China GDP, Fixed Asset Investment and Retail Sales, US Building Permits, Housing Starts and UoM Consumer Sentiment

Disclaimer: The information in this website is of a general nature only and the advice has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Accordingly, before acting on the advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. We recommend you seek independent advice if necessary.