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The Economic Calendar Keeps the EUR and the Greenback in the Spotlight

Bob Mason
·3-min read

Earlier in the Day:

It’s was a relatively busy start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. The Aussie Dollar and the Kiwi Dollar were in focus in the early hours.

For the Aussie Dollar

Private CAPEX rose by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, reversing a 3.0% decline in the 3rd quarter. Economists had forecast a 0.40% increase.

According to the ABS,

  • Building and structures rose by 0.7%, while equipment, plant, and machinery jumped by 5.7%.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.79759 to $0.79728 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.11% to $0.7959.

For the Kiwi Dollar

Business confidence provided the Kiwi Dollar with direction early on. In February, the ANZ Business Confidence Index fell from 9.4 to 7.0.

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According to the ANZ survey,

  • Firms’ own activity outlook eased by 1 point to 21.3%, while investment intentions rose by 7 points to 15.6%.

  • Employment intentions increased by 2 points, with a net 10.6% of respondents planning to hire more staff.

  • Inflationary pressures were also on the rise. Cost expectations rose 15 points to a net 71.9% of respondents reporting higher prices.

  • A net 46.2% of respondents intended to raise their prices, a historically high level.

  • Only a net 1.3% of firms expected higher profits, however, down from 6.8% in December.

The Kiwi Dollar moved from $0.74413 to $0.74408 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was down by 0.15% to $0.7425.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.21% to ¥106.09 against the U.S Dollar.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. German consumer sentiment figures for March will be in focus later this morning.

With business confidence on the rise, a pickup in consumer confidence would be a boost for the EUR and the European majors.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.07% to $1.2158.

For the Pound

It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no material stats due out of the UK to provide the Pound with direction.

Expectations of a speedy economic recovery as the government plans to ease containment measures remains Pound positive.

At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.08% to $1.4129.

Across the Pond

It’s a busier day ahead on the economic calendar. 2nd estimate GDP numbers for the 4th quarter, core durable goods, and weekly jobless claims figures are due out later today.

Barring a revision to the GDP numbers, expect the core durable goods and initial jobless claims figures to be the key drivers.

Other stats include durable goods orders and pending home sales, which are unlikely to have an impact on the Dollar.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.04% to 90.141.

For the Loonie

It’s another quiet day ahead, with no material stats due out to provide the Loonie with direction.

The lack of stats will leave the Loonie in the hands of market risk sentiment on the day.

While rising crude oil prices continues to be Loonie positive, concerns over a pickup in inflationary pressures could test support.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was down by 0.03% to C$1.2517 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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