TUE 18/4: US Building Permits may boost USD
WED 19/4: EU’s CPI seen unchanged
FRI 21/4: UK Retail Sales and German PMI to affect EUR/GBP
Last Week’s Recap – Oil and Gold Reign the Markets as Dollar plummets
Gold and Oil posted a long rally last week amid rising political tensions over North Korea and the Middle East which buoyed safe-haven demand, according to CNBC. Heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula and Middle East following U.S. strikes on Syria, along with the upcoming French presidential election, forced investors to remain largely on the sidelines and invest in safe-haven assets.
The greenback slumped broadly last Thursday pushing gold even higher. The USD fell to a five-month low against the yen, after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the currency was “too strong”. Oil prices were further supported by Saudi Arabia’s commitment to extend an OPEC-led production cut beyond the first half of 2017.
Monday Morning briefing – Markets to Remain Closed for Easter
E.U. and U.S. markets will remain closed today, as we celebrate Easter Monday, but for those of you who are early risers, there’s still the option of trading the late Asian session! Let’s have a look at this week’s important economic news and analyze how they may affect the value of the EUR, the USD and the GBP crosses…
Upcoming News and Data Releases that will Define this Week’s Markets…
TUE 18/4 – U.S. Building Permits to affect the USD
Tuesday marks the first day markets will re-open after the Easter holidays and investors will be looking for direction. The most important release for the day is US Building Permits, due to come out at 12:30 GMT. This data reveals the number of new housing permits given by the U.S. It is important to note that a higher than expected reading could push the USD higher!*
WED 19/4 – Eurozone Consumer Price Index
On Wednesday, investors will largely be focusing on EU’s CPI reading at 9:00 GMT which is expected to remain largely unchanged. Note however that a higher than expected reading however, could boost the EUR.*
FRI 21/4 – UK Retail Sales & German Manufacturing PMI to affect EUR/GBP pair
Friday will be a decisive day for the EUR/GBP as major data is to be released for Germany and the U.K. Specifically, we can expect the German Manufacturing PMI for last week at 7:30 GMT, with forecasts predicting a slight decrease to 58.0 from a previous 58.3. Note that weaker than expected reading can push the EUR lower. U.K. will also be releasing its Retail Sales for March with forecasts pointing to a slight decrease which could cause the pound to dip!*
Source: Investing.com
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