After the big dollar fall yesterday, the markets have stalled at the new levels. Will the dollar continue tumbling today? A rate decision in New Zealand, the Beige Book and other indicators will be published today. Let’s see what’s on the menu today.
Australian Westpac Consumer Sentiment rose by 5.2%, more than 3.7% last time. Home Loans fell by 2%, which was more than 1.5% that was expected.
The biggest Australian disappointment was Retail Sales that dropped by 1%, when they were expected to rise. AUD/USD retreated from 0.8660 down just below 0.8600.
For more on the Aussie, read the Australian Dollar Outlook.
In Japan, the Leading Indicators rose to 83%. Later in Japan, Prelim Machine Tool Orders are released. The more interesting Japanese release will be at night, Core Machinery Orders, which are expected to fall by 3% after rising by 9.7%.
In Germany, Final CPI is confirmed the 0.2% rise in prices that was reported in the Prelim release. For more on the Euro, read the EUR/USD Outlook.
British Trade Balance is expected to stay stable and stand on a deficit of 6.3 billion. For more on GBP/USD, check out the British Pound Outlook.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans will speak about inflation and might hint something about rate hikes. The Beige Book will be published in the evening, and will give a broad overview about the American economy.
In Canada, after the Building Permits disappointed and fell badly yesterday. This hurt the loonie. Today, Housing Starts are published, and are another important housing indicator.Housing Starts are expected to rise from 134K to 138K. For more on USD/CAD, read the Canadian Dollar Outlook.
A rate decision is due in New Zealand at 21:00 GMT. The Official Cash Rate is expected to stay unchanged at 2.5%. The future of interest rates in New Zealand isn’t clear. We’ll get some hints reading the RBNZ Rate Statement and later hear in the RBNZ Press Conference.
That’s it for today. Happy forex trading!