Market Roundup
- BOJ keeps monetary policy steady, pledges to increase monetary base at annual pace of 80 trln yen; decision was made by 8-1 vote.
- China c.bank does not drain or inject funds via open markets ops this week, versus a net drain of 20 bln yuan last week.
- Reserve Bank of New Zealand sets official cash rate at 3.5 pct.
- Australia mar housing credit stays flat at +0.5 % vs previous 0.5 %.
- Australia mar private sector credit stays flat at +0.5 % (consensus 0.5 %) vs previous 0.5 %.
- Australia q1 import prices decreases to -0.2 % vs previous 0.9 %.
- Australia q1 export prices decreases to -0.8 % vs previous 0.0 %.
Economic Data Ahead
- (0200 EDT/0600 GMT) Germany Retail Sales mm, consensus 0.5%, previous -0.5%
- (0245 EDT/0645 GMT) France Producer Prices mm, previous 0.7%
- (0245 EDT/0645 GMT) France Consumer Spending mm, consensus -0.3%, previous 0.1%
- (0300 EDT/0700 GMT) Spain GDP- Estimated Q1 yy, consensus 2.5%, previous 2.0%
- (0300 EDT/0700 GMT) Switzerland KOF Leading Indicator, consensus 91.5, previous 90.8
- (0355 EDT/0755 GMT) Germany Unemployment Change, consensus -15k, previous -14k
- (0355 EDT/0755 GMT) Germany Unemployment Rate, consensus 6.4%, previous 6.4%
- (0400 EDT/0800 GMT) Italy Unemployment, consensus 12.6%, previous 12.7%
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Italy Consumer Price Index mm, consensus 0.2%, previous 0.1%
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Greece Retail Sales yy, previous -0.1%
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Eurozone Unemployment Rate, consensus 11.2%, previous 11.3%
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Eurozone Consumer Price Index yy, consensus 0.0%, previous -0.1%
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Eurozone Consumer Price Index Core yy, consensus 0.6%, previous 0.6%
- (0600 EDT/1000 GMT) Italy PPI mm, previous 0.5%
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) US Continuing Jobless Claims, previous 2.325
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) US Personal Income mm, consensus 0.3%, previous 0.4%
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) US PCE – Price Index yy, previous 0.3%
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) US Initial Jobless Claims, previous 295
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) US Personal Spending, consensus 0.5%, previous 0.1%
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) Canada GDP mm, consensus -0.1%, previous -0.1%
- (0945 EDT/1345 GGMT) US Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index, consensus 50, previous 46.3
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Japan Jobs/applicants ratio, consensus 1.15, previous 1.15
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Japan National CPI ex Food, Energy yy, previous 2%
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Japan Unemployment Rate, consensus 3.5%, previous 3.5%
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Japan National CPI yy, previous 2.2%
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Japan Overall Household Spending, consensus -12.1%, previous -2.9%
- (1930 EDT/2330 GMT) Australia AiG Performance of Mfg Index, previous 46.3
Key Events Ahead
- (0200 EDT/0600 GMT) BoJ Outlook Report
- (0500 EDT/0900 GMT) Eurozone Economic bulletin
- (0830 EDT/1230 GMT) Fed’s Tarullo Speech
FX Recap
USD/JPY is currently trading downside as The Bank of Japan made no change to its current monetary policy statement. The Bank of Japan decided to keep its very accommodative policy settings unchanged on Thursday, as the bank attempts to drive inflation towards its long-held 2% target. JPY has appreciated against USD and made low at 118.60 levels. Initial support is seen at 118.32 and 116.86 levels. Alternatively, resistance is seen at 119.35 and 119.63 levels.AUD/USD continued its downward move from yesterday and has broken below the 0.80 handle. It currently trades at 0.7984 levels, having posted a high of 0.8021 in Asia. Fresh selling interest at this point could drag the pair to 0.7952 levels and further to 0.7900 levels. On the other hand, if it resumes the 0.80 levels again, it could further extend its gains to 0.8113 levels and then to 0.8250 levels.NZD/USD extends overnight losses and pair made low at 0.7591 levels. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) unchanged at 3.5% on Thursday, but said that it was not considering further interest rate hikes, though it might consider a cut if demand and inflation expectations slide. After the RBNZ, Pair is currently trading flat. Near term support is seen at 0.7591, 0.7549. Immediate resistance is seen at 0.7689 and 0.7743 levels.GBP/USD opened at 1.5424 and made new monthly high at 1.5497 levels. Today is data free trading period for UK. The pair moved after FOMC statement. The Federal Open Market Committee, the bank’s main decision-making body, indicated in its official statement released on Wednesday afternoon that beginning with the next meeting in June; it will be considering whether or not to lift the federal funds rate on a meeting-by-meeting basis. Initial support is seen at 1.5344, 1.5249 levels. 1. 5497 is near term resistance level.EUR/USD started the day on a weaker footing, partially trimming previous gains. It currently trades at 1.1109 levels, sliding from the high of 1.1186 levels seen on Wednesday. If the pair is able to hold above 1.11 levels, it could further rise to 1.1286 levels in the short-term. On the flip side, support is likely to be found at 1.10 levels, below which losses could be extended to 1.0930 levels.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com