Chatter from Capitol Hill and U.S stats to Keep the Greenback in Focus

Earlier in the Day:

It’s was a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. Economic data from China was in focus.

Away from the economic calendar, news hit the wires of the U.S introducing tariffs on French and German wine and aircraft parts from Europe. Also negative for the markets early on was news that plans to raise the aid checks to $2,000 had also failed overnight.

The overnight news from the U.S failed to provide U.S Dollar support early on, however.

From China

Private sector PMIs were in focus this morning.

In December, the NBS Manufacturing PMI fell from 52.1 to 51.9, with the Non-Manufacturing PMI declining from 56.4 to 55.7.

As a result of the softening in private sector activity, the NBS Composite PMI fell from 55.7 to 55.1.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.77012 to $0.77066 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.22% to $0.7703

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.35% to $0.7228, with the Japanese Yen up by 0.05% to ¥103.14 against the U.S Dollar.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There were no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide the EUR with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the EUR in the hands of market risk sentiment on the day.

COVID-19 and chatter from Capitol Hill remain key drivers following the House of Commons Brexit vote on Wednesday. With a number of EU markets closed for the day, volumes will be on the lighter side, however.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.04% to $1.2303.

For the Pound

It’s also a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There were no material stats to provide the majors with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the Pound in the hands of COVID-19 news and sentiment towards the economic outlook.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.15% to $1.3645.

Across the Pond

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Weekly jobless claims figures for the week ending 25^th December are in focus late in the day.

With the U.S continuing to struggle as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, another pickup in claims would support the Dollar.

Away from the calendar, expect news from Capitol Hill and COVID-19 to continue to influence.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.15% to 89.548.

For the Loonie

It’s another quiet day on the economic data front. There are no material stats due out to provide the Loonie with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the Loonie in the hands of the private sector PMI numbers from China and COVID-19 news.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.10% to C$1.2745 against the U.S Dollar.

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