A Busier Economic Calendar Puts the Pound in Focus amidst Rising COVID-19 Cases

Earlier in the Day:

It was a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Aussie Dollar was in action early this morning. Later this morning, finalized industrial production figures from Japan will also be in focus.

For the Aussie Dollar

In November, the NAB Business Confidence Index fell from 21 to 12.

According to the November Survey,

• Capacity utilization continued to recover, with forward orders and CAPEX positive.
• Confidence remains high in spite of the pullback, with forward indicators upbeat.
• Inflation indicators remain elevated, however. Labor costs growth continued, driven by rising payrolls.
• By contrast, purchase costs growth eased in November.
• While business confidence eased in November, business conditions picked up modestly from +11 to +12.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.71242 to $0.71206 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.18% to $0.7118.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.10% to ¥113.650 against the U.S Dollar, with the Kiwi Dollar down by 0.10% to $0.6749.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Eurozone industrial production figures for October will be in focus in the early part of the European session.

German industrial production had risen by 2.8% in October. The markets will be looking for a sizeable increase to support the EUR. Any upside for the EUR would be limited, however, amidst concenrs over the Omicron strain and FED policy.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.05% to $1.1278.

For the Pound

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar. Wage growth, claimant counts and unemployment figures will be in focus. Expect November’s claimant counts and October’s unemployment rate to be key ahead of the BoE policy decision on Thursday.

With the UK government struggling to contain the spread of the Omicron strain, however, the impact of the numbers could be muted…

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.08% to $1.3206.

Across the Pond

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead, with wholesale inflation figures for November due out. We can expect market sensitivity to the numbers as the FOMC meeting gets underway today. A pickup in wholesale inflation would point to a further increase in consumer prices that could force the FED to consider more than just tapering near-term.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.09% to 96.404.

For the Loonie

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic data front. There are no major stats to consider, leaving the Loonie in the hands of market risk sentiment.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.05% to C$1.2814 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.