Forex Previews

Week Ahead – Busy week for China, Eurozone and UK data; ECB and Bank of Canada meetings also eyed

Posted on January 15, 2016 at 11:43 am GMT

Economic data will be getting into full swing next week with a number of key releases for China, the United States, the Eurozone and Britain. Central banks will also be in focus as the ECB meets for the first time since December when it underwhelmed markets with its policy decision, while the Bank of Canada could cut interest rates for the first time since July 2015. The week will initially get off to a quiet start as US markets will [..]

Bank of England holds rates; expects inflation to rise more gradually

Posted on January 14, 2016 at 2:08 pm GMT

The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5% at its monthly monetary policy meeting today. The announcement was widely expected by the markets but some analysts were expecting for the decision to be unanimous by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members. One policymaker, Ian McCafferty, had been voting since August 2015 for a 0.25% rise and was once again the sole dissenter at the January meeting. In its meeting minutes, which are released simultaneously with the decision announcement, [..]

Improved Chinese trade data lifts market sentiment as exports decline eases

Posted on January 13, 2016 at 11:58 am GMT

China’s monthly trade figures provided some rare positive news out of the country today as both exports and imports declined by a slower pace in December. Exports fell by 1.4% year-on-year last month, beating expectations of an 8% drop and compares with a fall of 6.8% in November. Imports also continued to decline but the rate eased to -7.6% in December from -8.7% the prior month. The figure was sharply below estimates of an 11.5% drop. Exports have been fallen [..]

Pound under pressure again as UK production posts surprise drop in November

Posted on January 12, 2016 at 11:31 am GMT

Manufacturing output in the UK fell for the second month in a row in November, while overall industrial production was hit by falling energy output due to mild weather conditions. The British pound dropped below 1.45 dollars after the data as today’s numbers add to the increasingly bearish sentiment for the UK currency. Manufacturing production was down by 0.4% month-on-month in November, matching October’s decline. Consensus estimates were for manufacturing output to expand by 0.1%. On an annual basis, output [..]

Chinese inflation meets expectations but remains low

Posted on January 11, 2016 at 2:12 pm GMT

Chinese inflation numbers for December, released on Saturday 9 January, met expectations but remained low. Headline inflation came in at 1.6%, right in line with economists’ estimates, but producer prices fell a little more than expected at -5.9% year-on-year. As one can see from the chart, inflation has recovered from the very low rate (below 1%) that occurred at the beginning of 2015, but has also failed to move beyond 2% during the year – spending most of the year [..]

Week ahead highlights Bank of England, US retail sales and Australian unemployment

Posted on January 8, 2016 at 1:01 pm GMT

Following a tumultuous start to the year, next week will feature some important economic statistics and events, although these will be vying for attention with events out of China. The oil market should also continue to be a major theme, while speeches from a number of Fed officials should provide clues as to how the US central bank sees recent developments and market turbulence. Starting from the United States, the week will be relatively quiet in terms of economic data [..]

Eurozone unemployment ticks down in November, sentiment improves in December

Posted on January 7, 2016 at 11:10 am GMT

The Eurozone economic sentiment survey results for December and unemployment figures and retail sales for November were released on Thursday. Soon after these reports, the euro was little changed against its major counterparts but held gains near the highs of the session. Earlier, German retail sales data were released, showing a rise of 0.2% month-over-month in November from a 0.1% decline the prior month. Eurozone economic and business confidence readings were higher than expected in December. The Eurozone unemployment rate [..]

Chinese yuan weakens to 5-year low, PMI renew slowing growth fears

Posted on January 6, 2016 at 9:22 am GMT

China continues to be the focal point for the markets after data showed a setback to services sector growth in the world’s second largest economy. Investors closely watch PMI reports as China is making a transition from its old, manufacturing-driven economy to the new world of services. Thus, today’s disappointing Caixin services PMI numbers renew concerns about slowing growth in China. According to the private survey, activity in China’s services sector expanded at its slowest pace in seventeen months in [..]

Eurozone December inflation misses estimates, hurts euro

Posted on January 5, 2016 at 12:38 pm GMT

The announcement today of flash inflation for the Eurozone at 0.2% was lower than expectations that inflation would climb slightly to 0.3%. The reading stayed the same as the previous month’s 0.2% reading. The other key measure that is closely watched by the markets was core inflation, which excludes food and energy. Core inflation came in at 0.8%, against expectations it would stay at 0.9% – the same as the previous month’s rate. It was the second consecutive month that [..]

What to watch during the week: US employment and Eurozone inflation

Posted on January 4, 2016 at 1:45 pm GMT

Coming back from the New Year’s celebrations, investors and traders are likely to find their plates full this week with interesting economic releases from around the world as well as geopolitical developments and currency and stock market moves from China. First of all, Friday’s nonfarm payrolls will mark the first really important economic statistic of the New Year out of the United States. Economic data following the Fed’s first rate hike on December 16 have not exactly been stellar and [..]

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