The Week Ahead – Economic Data back in Focus after Last Weeks’ Central Bank Action

On the Macro

It’s a quiet week ahead on the economic calendar, with 32 stats in focus in the week ending 24^th December. In the week prior, 87 stats had been in focus.

For the Dollar:

Finalized 3^rd quarter GDP and weekly jobless claims will be in focus mid-week. Expect the jobless claims to be key.

On Thursday, core durable goods, inflation, and personal spending figures will also draw plenty of interest ahead of Friday’s holiday.

In the week ending 17^th December, the Dollar Spot Index rose by 0.49% to 96.565.

For the EUR:

Consumer sentiment Germany and the Eurozone will be in focus on Tuesday. We continue to see heightened EUR sensitivity to consumer sentiment figures. A sharp decline, stemming from rising COVID-19 cases, would test EUR support.

On Thursday, 3^rd quarter GDP numbers for Spain are also due out but should have a muted impact on the EUR.

For the week, the EUR fell by 0.65% to $1.1240.

For the Pound:

It’s a quiet week ahead on the economic calendar.

CBI industrial trend orders for December are due out on Monday but should have a muted impact on the Pound.

On Wednesday, finalized 3^rd quarter GDP numbers will also be in focus. Expect any revisions to influence.

The Pound fell by 0.21% to end the week at $1.3245.

For the Loonie:

It’s relatively quiet week ahead on the economic calendar.

Retail sales figures for November will be in focus on Tuesday ahead of GDP numbers on Thursday. Expect both data sets to influence.

The Loonie ended the week down 1.31% to C$1.2889 against the U.S Dollar.

Out of Asia

For the Aussie Dollar:

There are no material stats due out of Australia to provide the Aussie Dollar with direction.

While there are no stats, the RBA meeting minutes and Australia’s mid-year economic and fiscal outlook will both influence on Tuesday.

The Aussie Dollar fell by 0.66% to $0.7125.

For the Kiwi Dollar:

Trade data for November will be in focus at the start of the week. With little else for the markets to consider, we can expect Kiwi Dollar sensitivity to the numbers.

The Kiwi Dollar ended the week down up 0.84% to $0.6739.

For the Japanese Yen:

It’s a quiet week on the economic data front, with stats limited to inflation figures for November. We don’t expect Yen sensitivity to the numbers, however.

The Japanese Yen fell by 0.25% to ¥113.720 against the U.S Dollar.

Out of China

There are no material stats due out of China to influence the markets in the week. COVID-19 news, however, will draw interest.

On the monetary policy front, the PBoC is scheduled to set loan prime rates on Monday. The markets are not expecting any moves.

The Chinese Yuan ended the week down by 0.08% to CNY6.3754 against the U.S Dollar.

Geo-Politics

Nothing new to consider in the week ahead, with China and Capitol Hill continuing to be the key areas of focus.

COVID-19

News updates on the Omicron strain will be a key area focus.