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Forex Daily Outlook – March 17th 2010

Another busy day expects forex traders: a rate decision in Japan, employment figures in Britain and Ben Bernanke for dessert are among the events today. Let’s see what’s on the menu.

The most popular pair, EUR/USD, recently enjoyed some gains, but didn’t breach significant technical levels. I see it as a rise before the fall. What do you think? Anyway, let’s start the review:

Japan provides a strong start to the day with a rate decision. The Overnight Call Rate isn’t expected to move from 0.1%. It will be interesting to see how the Monetary Policy Statement will be: the wording will shake the yen. Afterwards, the BOJ will hold a press conference, and this will also shake the yen.

At the end of the day, Japan’s BSI Manufacturing Index is expected to rise to 15.3 points.

Busy day in Britain today: the Claimant Count Change is expected to show a rise of 8,700 jobs after a disappointing rise of 23,500 jobs last time. The Unemployment Rate, which relates to the month of January, is expected to remain unchanged at 7.8%.

At the same time, the MPC Meeting Minutes will be released. They’re expected to show if any of the bankers voted to expand the Quantitative Easing program, after 200 billion pounds were used.

For the Pound’s technical levels, read the GBP/USD forecast.

In Europe, the only event due today is a speech by Axel Weber, the leading candidate to replace Trichet as the president of the ECB. For more on the Euro, read the EUR/USD forecast and Casey Stubbs’ latest analysis.

In Canada, Wholesale Sales are expected to rise by 0.6%, following a rise of 0.7% last month. The Canadian dollar holds on to its gains at the moment. For more, read the USD/CAD forecast.

In the US, producer prices will move the dollar. After a jump of 1.4%, PPI is expected to drop by 0.2% this time, indicating that no inflation is in the horizon. Also Core PPI is predicted to remain mild – a small rise of 0.1%.

One day after the rate decision, Ben Bernanke testify alongside Paul Volcker, a former head of the Federal Reserve, about the the central bank’s powers and the meaning for monetary policy. While the agenda isn’t rates, Bernanke can always shake the markets.

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Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam

Yohay Elam: Founder, Writer and Editor I have been into forex trading for over 5 years, and I share the experience that I have and the knowledge that I've accumulated. After taking a short course about forex. Like many forex traders, I've earned a significant share of my knowledge the hard way. Macroeconomics, the impact of news on the ever-moving currency markets and trading psychology have always fascinated me. Before founding Forex Crunch, I've worked as a programmer in various hi-tech companies. I have a B. Sc. in Computer Science from Ben Gurion University. Given this background, forex software has a relatively bigger share in the posts.