Economic Data Puts the EUR and the U.S Dollar in the Spotlight

Earlier in the Day:

It’s was a busier start to the day on the economic calendar this morning.  The Kiwi Dollar and the Aussie Dollar were in action in the early part of the day.

For the Kiwi Dollar

The trade surplus narrowed from NZ$475m to NZ$282 in July.

According to NZ Stats,

Imports

• For the 1^st time in almost 34 years, no crude oil was imported into New Zealand. The imports of cars and other vehicles also fell.
• Imports from Europe had the largest fall, declining by NZ$262m compared with July 2019.
• From the U.S, imports fell by NZ$76m, while imports from China were up by NZ$108m (+10%).

Exports

• Exports to China fell NZ$28m compared with July 2019, while total exports to the U.S rose by NZD89m.

The annual trade balance for the year ended July 2020 was a deficit of NZ$115m, which was the lowest deficit since October 2014.

The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.65478 to $0.65458 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.03% to $0.6549.

For the Aussie Dollar

Construction work done fell by 0.70% in the 2^nd quarter, following on from a 1% decline in the 1^st quarter. Economists had forecast a 5.8% drop.

According to the ABS,

• The value of work down on residential (-5.5%) and building (-3.9%) weighed heavily in the second quarter.
• For engineering, the value of work down bucked the trend, however, rising by 3.8%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.72009 to $0.72004 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.08% to $0.7189.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was up by 0.09% ¥106.49 against the U.S Dollar.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Economic data on the day include French consumer confidence and jobseeker figures.

Barring particularly dire jobseeker numbers, expect the consumer confidence figure to draw the greatest interest on the day

Away from the economic calendar, COVID-19 news and geopolitics will continue to be of influence.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.14% to $1.1818.

For the Pound

It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no material stats to provide the Pound with direction.

On the monetary policy front, BoE member Haldane is scheduled to speak later in the day. Following some quite dire 2^nd quarter GDP numbers, will there be any talk of the need for further support? Private sector PMIs for August suggest not…

A lack of stats will also continue to leave the Pound in the hands of Brexit, the latest COVID-19 news and numbers, and geopolitical risk.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.13% to $1.3135.

Across the Pond

It’s a relatively busy day ahead for the U.S Dollar. Key stats include July’s durable and core durable goods orders.

Expect the core durable goods orders to be the key driver, with the markets eager to see a continued uptrend.

Away from the economic calendar, geopolitics and the COVID-19 stimulus package will remain in focus.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.10% to 93.114.

For the Loonie

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

The weekly API and EIA inventory numbers and any chatter from Beijing and Washington will be the key drivers.

On the monetary policy front, BoC Gov. Council Member Wilkins is scheduled to speak. Expect any chatter on monetary policy and the economic outlook to also influence.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.03% to C$1.3177 against the U.S Dollar.

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