Home Forex Weekly Outlook Nov. 30-Dec. 4 – Markets eye PMIs, GDP reports
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Forex Weekly Outlook Nov. 30-Dec. 4 – Markets eye PMIs, GDP reports

The US dollar continues to struggle against the major currencies. Will the greenback turn things around this week? Highlights include PMIs as well as GDP reports in Canada and Australia. The week ends with US nonfarm payrolls, which is a market-mover.

German GDP bounced back in the third quarter, with a gain of 8.5%. This follows a decline of 9.7% in Q2.   In France, GDP jumped 18.7% in Q3, beating the forecast of 18.2%.

It was a tale of two sectors for British PMIs. The Manufacturing PMI improved from 53.3 to 55.2, pointing to strong expansion. However, the Services PMI fell into contraction territory, from 52.3 to 45.8 points. There was grim news from the BoE, as the BoE  Monetary  Policy  Report  projected  a  contraction  of  2% in the fourth quarter. This was followed by Finance Minister Sunak’s spending review, in which he said that the Office of Budget Responsibility had projected a GDP decline of 11.3%.

In the US, PMIs for October indicated stronger growth in the manufacturing and services sectors. Services PMI improved to 57.7, as the index accelerated for a seventh straight month. Manufacturing PMI climbed to 56.7, up significantly from 53.3 beforehand. Both PMIs were well into expansionary territory, which indicates that the economic recovery continues to gain traction. Unemployment claims climbed for a second straight week, with a reading of 778 thousand. This was much higher than the estimate of 732 thousand. Durable goods orders reports were mixed. The headline figure slowed to 1.3%, down from 1.9%. However, the core release climbed from 0.8% to 1.3%.

The week wrapped up with the FOMC minutes of the November policy meeting. The minutes showed that officials did not believe any changes were needed to the current bond-purchase scheme of $120 billion/month. At the same time, they were of the opinion that “circumstances could shift to warrant such adjustments.”

  1. Eurozone Inflation Report:  Tuesday, 10:00. Inflation remains low, as the eurozone economy remains in a weak state. Headline inflation is expected in at -0.2%, while the core inflation forecast stands at 0.2%.
  2. UK Manufacturing PMI: Tuesday, 9:30. Manufacturing slowed to 53.7 in October, but is expected to accelerate to 55.2 in November, which would indicate strong expansion. This would confirm the initial PMI reading.
  3. US Manufacturing PMI: Tuesday, 15:00. Manufacturing remains well into expansion territory, and another strong reading is expected, with a forecast of 57.7 points.
  4. UK Services PMI: Thursday, 9:30. Business activity has been weakening, as the PMI slowed to 51.4 in October, down from 56.1 beforehand. The downturn is expected to continue, with a forecast of 45.8, which would indicate contraction. This figure would confirm the initial PMI reading.
  5. UK Construction PMI: Friday, 9:30. The construction sector remains continues to show expansion, but slowed to 53.1 in October, down from 56.8 points. The PMI is expected to fall to 52.3 in November, which is downwardly revised from the initial reading of 53.1 points.
  6. RBA Decision:  Tuesday, 3:30. The RBA is expected to maintain interest rates at the record level of 0.10%. Investors will be keeping a close eye on the rate statement, which could provide clues as to future monetary moves.
  7. Australian GDP: Wednesday, 00:30. Australia’s economy fell by 7.0% in Q2, as Covid-19 was responsible for a sharp economic downturn. The economy is expected to rebound in Q3, with an estimate of 2.4%.
  8. Canada GDP: Tuesday, 13:30. Canada releases GDP on a monthly basis. The economy slowed to 1.5% in September, down from 3.0% beforehand. Will we see a rebound in October?
  9. Canada Employment Report: Tuesday, 13:30. Canada created 83.6 thousand jobs in October, much weaker than the September release of 378.2 thousand. Unemployment slipped to 8.9%, its lowest level since March. Will the downswing continue in the November release?
  10. US Employment Report: Friday, 13:30. Nonfarm payrolls have been falling, and the trend is expected to continue, with an estimate of 500 thousand.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher - Senior Writer A native of Toronto, Canada, Kenneth worked for seven years in the marketing and trading departments at Bendix, a foreign exchange company in Toronto. Kenneth is also a lawyer, and has extensive experience as an editor and writer.