As fears of a global recession rise, today's stats could add to the doom and gloom. The UK and U.S retail sales figures will be the key drivers
It was a relatively busy Asian session on the economic calendar this morning.
Economic data through the early part of the session included July employment figures out of Australia. Later this morning finalized June industrial production numbers are due out of Japan.
Outside of the numbers, the markets reacted further to the European and U.S sell-off as economic data and bond yields raised the alarm bells.
July employment figures provided the Aussie Dollar with direction in the early hours. According to figures released by the ABS,
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.67561 to a high $0.67862 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.28% to $0.6767, supported by the surprise jump in employment.
At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.07% to ¥105.84 against the U.S Dollar, ahead of the finalized industrial production figures. The Kiwi Dollar was flat at $0.6436.
In the Asian equity markets, it was red across the majors as the Asian markets responded to the Wednesday slide and inversion of government bond yields. The ASX200 led the way down at the time of writing, sliding by 2.05%. The Nikkei and Hang Seng weren’t far behind, with the pair down by 1.73% and by 1.41% respectively.
It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide the EUR with direction on the day.
A lack of stats will lave the EUR in the hands of geopolitics and market sentiment towards the global economic outlook.
At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.07% to $1.1147.
It’s another busy day ahead on the data front. July retail figures are due out of the UK later this morning.
As the UK economy heads towards a technical recession, disappointing retail sales figures would certainly turn the screw on the Pound.
Forecasts are for retail sales to hit reverse in July, following an unexpected jump in June.
Outside of the stats, any chatter on Brexit will need consideration, though with the UK Parliament in summer recess, there are unlikely to be any major developments.
At the time of writing, the Pound was flat at $1.2060.
It’s also a busy day for the Greenback. Key stats due out of the U.S later today include July retail sales and manufacturing numbers from NY State and Philly.
2nd quarter non-farm productivity and unit labor cost numbers could also have an impact if there’s a material deviation from 1st estimates.
Later in the U.S session, industrial production and business inventories will also be in focus.
Barring a material rise, however, we would expect the jobless claims figures to have a muted impact on the Dollar.
As the week comes rapidly to an end, any chatter from the Oval Office will also need to be factored in.
At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.05% to 97.94.
It’s yet another quiet ahead on the economic calendar, with no material stats due out to provide the Loonie with direction.
Risk sentiment on the day will provide direction over the course of the day. Following a shift in central bank policy in key geographies, the markets will need to wait until 4th September for the next BoC decision.
Following weak stats out of Canada last week, will the BoC catch the markets off guard? A lack of stats this week will have been of little help for the Loonie.
The Loonie was up by 0.08% at C$1.3309, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing.
With over 20 years of experience in the finance industry, Bob has been managing regional teams across Europe and Asia and focusing on analytics across both corporate and financial institutions. Currently he is covering developments relating to the financial markets, including currencies, commodities, alternative asset classes, and global equities.