The ECB and Economic Data Put the EUR and the GBP in Focus after Wednesday’s Retreats

Earlier in the Day:

It was a busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Kiwi Dollar and the Aussie Dollar were in action.

For the Kiwi Dollar

According to the latest ANZ Report, business confidence fell 5 points to -18.1 for October.

• All-forward looking activity indicators except employment intentions fell, according to prelim figures.

Looking at the components:

• Own activity outlook fell from 21.7 to 15.6, with export intentions down from 8.6 to 8.0.
• Investment intentions slid from 13.8 to 11.6%, while cost expectations rose from 87.2 to 89.0.
• Employment intentions improved, however, rising from 10.9 to 16.1. This was in spite of weaker profit expectations.

At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.17% to $0.70708.

For the Aussie Dollar

Employment figures drew attention this morning.

According to ABS,

• The unemployment rate increased to 5.2% from 4.8% in October.
• Employment fell by 46.3k to leave it 160.3k lower than in March 2020.
• Full-time employment declined by 40.4k, with part-time employment down 5.9k.
• The participation rate increased by 0.1 pts to 64.7%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.73375 to $0.73198 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.02% to $0.73246.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.05% to ¥113.960 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 to provide the EUR with direction.

While there are no stats, the ECB Economic Bulletin and Forecasts will provide direction early in the European session.

The markets will be looking for the ECB’s view on inflation and the impact on the ongoing economic recovery.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.06% to $1.14851.

For the Pound

It’s a busy day ahead on the economic calendar.

3^rd quarter GDP numbers will be in focus along with trade data and industrial and manufacturing production figures.

Expect revisions to the GDP numbers and manufacturing production to be the key drivers on the day.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.08% to $1.34130.

Across the Pond

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar.

There are no material stats to provide the Dollar and the broader market with direction.

Following Wednesday’s inflation figures, expect any FOMC member chatter to draw plenty of interest, however.

On Wednesday, the U.S Dollar Spot Index had rallied by 0.95% to 94.850.

For the Loonie

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

The lack of stats will leave the Loonie in the hands of OPEC’s monthly report and impact on crude oil prices.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was flat at C$1.24861 against the U.S Dollar.

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