Economic Data, COVID-19, and the EU Summit Put the USD, EUR, and the GBP in Focus

Earlier in the Day:

It’s was a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Aussie Dollar was in action in the early part of the day.

Away from the economic calendar, market jitters over the continued rise in COVID-19 cases weighed on riskier assets early on.

For the Aussie Dollar

October employment change figures were in focus. Following the RBA meeting minutes from Tuesday, a move in the Aussie Dollar was anticipated in response to the release. The move was short-lived, however.

According to the ABS,

• Employment jumped by 178.8k in October, reversing a 29.5k fall from September with interest. Economists had forecast a 30.0k decline.
• Total employment rose by 97.0k, reversing a 20.1k fall from September.
• The unemployment rate rose from 6.9% to 7.0%, which was better than a forecasted increase to 7.2%

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.72867 to $0.72948 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.21% to $0.7290.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen down by 0.05% to ¥103.87 against the U.S Dollar, while the Kiwi Dollar was down by 0.32% to $0.6905.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a particularly 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 stats will leave the EUR in the hands of COVID-19 news updates and Brexit chatter. Both the Pound and the EUR have stood their ground until now, can that continue?

Today’s EU Summit, not only puts the Pound in the spotlight, however. Disagreements over the EU budget and Recovery Fund has also resurfaced. This is expected to be another hot topic at the Summit.

On the monetary policy front, ECB President Lagarde is due to speak later today. Any chatter on monetary policy will need monitoring. The big question will be whether the ECB will hold back following positive news from both Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. on COVID-19 vaccine trials. Until now, Lagarde as suggested that the ECB will deliver.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.13% to $1.1838.

For the Pound

It’s also a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. CBI Industrial Trend Orders for November are due out later today.

With Brexit and COVID-19 in focus, service sector data will likely have a far greater influence near-term. That should therefore limit any influence from the CBI numbers for November.

Away from the economic calendar, it’s the EU Summit. This was supposed to be the final deadline for Brexit talks, so expect plenty of influence from the news wires.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.30% to $1.3233.

Across the Pond

It’s a busier day ahead for the U.S Dollar. October homes sales, November Philly FED Manufacturing, and the weekly jobless claim are in focus.

Expect the Philly FED and jobless claims to have the greatest influence on the day.

Away from the economic calendar, chatter from Capitol Hill and updates on COVID-19 will remain key drivers.

Any progress towards a stimulus package would support riskier assets, though the chances of any progress remain slim. It’s all about the expectation for now…

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.22% to 92.517.

For the Loonie

It’s a particularly 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 market risk sentiment on the day. There are still plenty of downside risks that can send the economy into a longer tailspin to overshadow progress towards a COVID-19 vaccine.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.12% to C$1.3097 against the U.S Dollar.

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