Forex Previews

What to expect from Powell’s first major speech – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 27, 2018 at 8:22 am GMT

Jerome Powell is the new Fed chair replacing Janet Yellen after her term expired this month and without doubt market watchers are eagerly waiting to hear whether his views on the economy support the pre-existing monetary policy script. Therefore, Tuesday will see investors turning their ears to Powell’s first major speech in front of the House Financial Services Committee, while on Thursday the new Fed boss will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Before Powell sits on the Fed chair, a surprising rise in [..]

Week Ahead – Markets look to Powell testimony for Fed guidance; Japan and US data to dominate

Posted on February 23, 2018 at 4:53 pm GMT

Economic data from Japan and the United States will comprise the bulk of next week’s releases. Australia, Canada, the Eurozone and the United Kingdom will also see important data releases. But the main focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s first semi-annual testimony before Congress. Anxious market participants will be seeking clarity on Fed policy as stock markets are still reeling from the sharp sell-off in early February, while the dollar continues to defy rising US yields by showing [..]

Canadian inflation pressures seen abating – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 21, 2018 at 4:22 pm GMT

Canadian retail sales and figures on consumer prices will go public this week but based on forecasts, inflation pressures are not seen warming up yet as both retail sales and inflation are expected to slow down instead. Taking this into account and considering the Bank of Canada’s data dependent policy approach, additional rate hikes are likely to come later than sooner. On Thursday at 1330 GMT, Statistics Canada will report on retail sales for the month of December. On a monthly basis, retail sales are said [..]

ECB meeting minutes due: more hawkish talk to be expected? – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 21, 2018 at 3:18 pm GMT

The European Central Bank will release its account of the monetary policy meeting that took place in January on Thursday at 1230 GMT. The minutes from the December meeting took markets by surprise by being more on the hawkish side of the spectrum than markets expected, leading to a rally in the euro. Should Thursday’s release build on the “hawkish momentum”, then the single currency is again expected to post gains. December’s minutes indicated that the ECB may revisit its [..]

FOMC minutes may extend the dollar’s rebound, but can it last? – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 21, 2018 at 1:49 pm GMT

The Fed will release the minutes from the January FOMC meeting on Wednesday at 1900 GMT, and investors will be watching closely as they try to gauge whether the central bank will chart a more hawkish course moving forward. While an optimistic tone in the minutes may help the dollar to extend its latest recovery, it is critical to keep in mind that the broader market narrative remains one of USD weakness, for now at least. While the Fed kept [..]

New Zealand retail sales eyed; will it affect the kiwi’s bearish retracement in short-term? – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 21, 2018 at 11:44 am GMT

New Zealand retail sales data for the fourth quarter of 2017 are due for release at 2145 GMT on Thursday, with forecasts pointing to a strong rise in quarterly terms. The indicator is expected to edge up by 1.4% in the three months to December, following a rise of 0.2% before. The latest release was the slowest gain since June 2015, mainly explained by weaknesses in housing construction and in food and beverage services. Also, the attention will turn on the kiwi as there is plenty of room for a [..]

Sterling traders turn their sights to jobs data – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 20, 2018 at 4:21 pm GMT

The UK will see the release of employment data for December on Wednesday, at 0930 GMT. While practically every indicator is projected to have remained unchanged from the previous month, this is still a major risk event for sterling, as any deviation from the forecasts will likely have a large impact on the currency’s forthcoming path. According to forecasts, the UK unemployment rate is anticipated to remain unchanged at 4.3% in December, while average weekly earnings (both including and excluding [..]

Eurozone PMIs forecast to ease but still point to solid growth – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 20, 2018 at 3:03 pm GMT

Markit’s eurozone flash PMI data for the month of February for the manufacturing and services sectors are due on Wednesday at 0900 GMT. The figures are expected to slightly ease relative to January, though still remain comfortably in expansion territory above 50 and continue to support the view that growth in the euro area is picking up steam. February’s flash manufacturing, services and composite PMIs are anticipated at 59.3, 57.6 and 58.5 respectively. These compare to January’s respective figures of [..]

Australian wages to dictate the Aussie’s short-term path – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 20, 2018 at 2:18 pm GMT

Subdued wage growth has been a major source of concern for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) for years now. While the Bank expects wages to pick up, it does not expect that to happen quickly and has thus shown little urgency to raise interest rates. Against that backdrop, traders will keep a close eye on the upcoming wage prints, as they could determine whether the RBA will change its neutral tune anytime soon, or whether it will remain sidelined [..]

Japanese trade data due as yen strength gets into focus – Forex News Preview

Posted on February 16, 2018 at 3:31 pm GMT

Japanese trade data for the month of January are scheduled for release on Sunday at 2350 GMT. Exports are projected to grow for the 14th consecutive month on a yearly basis and imports for the 13th. Yen pairs will be gathering attention as the data go public, though – especially as of late – those have been sensitive to other factors which are at play at the moment, rather than to economic releases out of Japan. Exports are forecast to [..]

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