Economic Data Puts the Greenback in Focus, while Coronavirus Jitters Linger

Earlier in the Day:

It was a relatively quiet day on the Asian economic calendar this morning. The Aussie Dollar was in action, with December business confidence figures providing direction early on in the day

Outside of the numbers, risk aversion continued to plague the Asian markets in the wake of the sell-off in Europe and the U.S on Monday.

Through the morning, while there is some comfort in the efforts to contain the virus, a continued spread could deliver more pain to riskier assets.

For the Aussie Dollar

The NAB Business Confidence Index fell from 0 to an almost 7-year low -2 in December. Economists had forecast an increase to 1.

According to the NAB,

• Forward orders remained weak, with capacity utilization sitting just below the average.

• CAPEX fell back to also sit below the average.

• There was good news on the employment front, however, with the index sitting at +4, supporting a favorable outlook for hiring.

• The Business Conditions Index fell by 1 point to 3 in December.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.67574 to $0.67534 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was down by 0.12% to $0.6753, with the numbers yet more bad news for the RBA.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.11% to ¥109.02 against the U.S Dollar, while The Kiwi Dollar was down by 0.12% to $0.6540.

The Day Ahead:

For the EUR

It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar, with no material stats due out of the Eurozone to provide the EUR with direction.

A lack of stats will leave the EUR in the hands of the Oval Office and the news wires. While the focus will remain on the spread of the coronavirus, there is also the ongoing threat of U.S tariffs on the EU.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.01% to $1.1020.

For the Pound

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

The focus this week is on the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision and Brexit, as Britain prepares to enter the transition period.

Last week’s numbers suggest that the BoE may be able to delay any move, which should continue to limit any major downside.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.05% to $1.3064.

Across the Pond

It’s a relatively busy day on the data front. Economic data includes house price data, durable goods orders, and consumer confidence figures.

We would expect December’s durable goods orders and January’s consumer confidence figures to have the greatest impact.

Of interest will be whether the spread of the coronavirus has had any impact on consumer confidence in January.  The January survey may be too soon to tell…

The Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.02% to 97.939 at the time of writing.

For the Loonie

It’s another quiet day ahead on the economic calendar, with no material stats due out of Canada.

A lack of stats will continue to leave the Loonie in the hands of risk appetite on the day.

The Loonie was up by 0.04% at C$1.3189 against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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