Economic Data Puts the Loonie and Greenback in Focus Today

Earlier in the Day:

It was a relatively quiet day on the Asian economic calendar in the earlier hours of this morning.

The Aussie Dollar was in action early on, with November private sector credit figures providing direction.

Support for the Aussie Dollar and Kiwi Dollar kicked in this morning. News of the U.S and China planning to sign the phase 1 agreement in early January provided support.

For the Aussie Dollar

Private sector credit rose by 0.1% in November, month-on-month, according to figures released by RBA, falling short of a forecasted rise of 0.3%. In October, private sector credit had risen by just 0.1%.

• Personal credit fell by a further 0.5%, following a 0.6% decline in October.
• Housing credit increased by 0.2%, following a 0.3% rise in October.
• Business credit increased by 0.2% after having stalled in October.
• Year on year, total credit rose by 2.3%. In November 2018, total credit had risen by 4.4%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.68985 to $0.68984 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.13% to $0.6909.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar up by 0.17% to $0.6610, while the Japanese Yen was flat at ¥109.44 against the greenback.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

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

A lack of stats will allow the markets to consider what lies ahead, with volumes likely to be on the lighter side.

There’s Brexit, the threat of tariffs on EU goods, disappointing consumer confidence and private sector PMI and employment numbers to consider.

The good news is that the threat of a dismemberment abated as the year progressed and Lagarde may be the right person for the top job at this juncture.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.01% to $1.1078.

For the Pound

It’s also a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar, with no material stats due out of the UK to provide the Pound with direction.

While there is a lack of data, the markets may begin to consider what lies ahead with Johnson sitting with a comfortable majority.

Unlike his counterpart in the U.S, he doesn’t have to concern himself with the opposition… If he sticks to the script and deviates only slightly, he may also provide a much-needed boost to the UK that pretty much stagnated over the last 3-years.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.11% to $1.3013.

Across the Pond

It’s a busier day on the data front, with November new home sales due out later today.

With stats and volumes on the lighter side, we can expect the Dollar to be responsive to the numbers. Any negative numbers would likely have a muted impact, however, following impressive housing starts and building permit figures released last week.

On the geopolitical risk front, perhaps some final pearls of wisdom from the U.S President’s Twitter account?

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.02% to 97.668.

For the Loonie

It’s a relatively busy day on the economic calendar. October GDP numbers are due out later this afternoon.

Following some pretty unimpressive numbers last week, any weak numbers will sink the Loonie further.

The BoC may be looking to hold out, however, with the USMCA and Phase 1 agreement providing support.

New trade terms are going to take some time to wash out the effects of punitive tariffs to support global trade terms…  As we know, the markets have a tendency to be rather impatient…

The Loonie was up by 0.05% to C$1.3154 against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing.