Today’s calendar is already busier. British Final GDP and the American CB Consumer Confidence will stand out. Let’s see what’s awaiting us today.
Non-Farm Payrolls for March continue to carry high expectations. While this might boost the dollar, Monday’s trade wasn’t too favorable for the greenback. Today’s figures could set the direction:
In Australia, RBA Assistant Governor Guy Debelle will speak today and could continue his boss’ stance on interest rates being “too low”. The Aussie has slightly recovered. For more, read the AUD/USD forecast.
In Switzerland, the UBS Consumption Indicator will probably edge up once again, and could soften the Swissy’s fall.
The German Import Prices will probably rise by only 0.5% after a leap of 1.8% last time. Inflation needs to pick up for a rate hike to come. For the Euro’s technical levels, read the EUR/USD forecast and Casey Stubbs’ latest analysis.
Busy day in Britain
The events in Britain start with Nationwide HPI, an important indicator for house prices. After many months of rises, this index fell by 1% last month. A rise of 0.2% is expected this time.
Final GDP will probably confirm the 0.3% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2010. This was revised upwards from 0.1%. The revision to 0.3% came on the back of a downwards revision of the data for the third quarter.
Together with the GDP, Britain’s Current Account will probably show the same deficit as in the previous quarter – 4.7 billion pounds. This is also an important release for the Pound.
Just after these two releases, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will come to parliament once again and will speak about the budget. Darling’s recent appearance, just last week, was negative for the Pound. Will Darling do it again?
At the end of the day, British GfK Consumer Confidence will probably edge up from -14 to -13, showing less pessimism. For more on the Pound, read the GBP/USD forecast.
In the US, the S&P/CS Composite-20 HPI is expected to show almost no change in year over year house prices, better than last month’s figure – -3.1%. This will show a stabilization in prices.
The more important event is the CB Consumer Confidence. This major survey dropped to 46 points last time, and is now expected to recover back to 50.2 points. Consumers aren’t confident about the economic recovery. Not yet.
In Canada, the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) will probably drop by 1% after a strong rise of 3.3%. This should help the loonie pick a direction. Read more in the Canadian dollar forecast.
That’s it for today. Happy forex trading!
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