ECB President Lagarde and FED Chair Powell Put the EUR and the Dollar in the Spotlight

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 this morning, with economic data from the Pound also in focus.

With FED Chair Powell delivering testimony later today, however, it’s likely to be Asian testy session.

For the Aussie Dollar

Retail sales and trade data were in focus this morning.

In November, retail sales surged by 7.2%, month-on-month, following a 4.9% jump in October. Economists had forecast a 3.9% increase.

According to the ABS,

• Food retailing fell by 2.5%, while clothing, footwear, & personal accessory retailing surged by 38.2% in November.
• There were also marked increases in the department store sales (+26.0%) and household goods retailing (+11.6%).
• Cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services rose by 9.3%, with other retailing up by 7.3%.
• Year-on-year, retail sales increased by 5.8%.

Australia’s trade surplus narrowed from A$11.22bn to A$9.423bn in November. Economists had forecast a narrowing to A$10.6bn.

According to the ABS,

• Exports rose by A$691m (2%) to A$43,859m, with a 13% rise in the exports of Other rural the key contributor.
• Imports rose by A$2,049m (6%) to A$34,436m. Primary industrial supplies imports was the biggest contributor.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.71803 to $0.71860 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.24% to $0.7187.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.16% to $0.6773, while the Japanese Yen was down by 0.05% to ¥115.260 against the U.S Dollar.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

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. The lack of major stats will draw attention to retail sales figures from Italy.

On the monetary policy front, however, ECB President Lagarde is scheduled to speak. The markets will be looking for any change in stance on inflation and monetary policy.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.08% to $1.1335.

For the Pound

It’s another particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no material stats from the UK to provide the Pound with direction later today.

Early this morning, retail sales figures were in focus, however. In December, the BRC Retail Sales Monitor rose by 0.6% versus a forecasted 0.3%. The BRC Retail Sales Monitor had been up by 1.8% in November.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.07% to $1.3586.

Across the Pond

It’s also a particularly quiet day ahead, with no material stats from the U.S for the markets to consider. While there are no stats, FED Chair Powell is scheduled to deliver testimony to lawmakers. With the markets prepared for rate hikes, it is now about how aggressively the FED will move through this year.

At the time of writing, the U.S Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.08% to 95.915.

For the Loonie

It’s another quiet day ahead. There are no material stats from Canada to provide the Loonie with direction.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.14% to C$1.2661 against the U.S Dollar.

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