Economic calendar: 3 major market events this week

Summary:

• Data from the US housing market to be released in the afternoon

• BoE and Fed to make their interest rate decisions this week

• EMU inflation report scheduled for release on Tuesday

Unsurprisingly, Monday’s economic calendar looks empty. Pending home sales reading for June is scheduled for release in the afternoon (3:00 pm BST) therefore some additional volatility on the FX pairs tied to USD may spur. According to the economists surveyed by Bloomberg agency the reading should show a 0.2% MoM advance against 0.5% MoM drop seen in May. Apart from that, throughout the day CPI readings from the EMU countries will be published with the German one dragging the most attention (1:00 pm BST). Keep in mind that the reading for the whole eurozone will be released tomorrow at 10:00 am BST.

What to watch for the remainder of the week:

Last week was somewhat disappointing on the data front but we will be more than compensated this week. If inflation releases from US and EMU do not make the top3 list you know it’s going to be a busy week. Will that be a trigger for the major currency pairs that have moved into a consolidation lately?

The FOMC decision (Wednesday, 7:00 pm GMT)

After hiking rates in June, this time the Fed is expected to stay put on a meeting that is not followed by the conference. However, traders will try to look for signals confirming a rate hike on the next meeting (in September) that is expected but not written in stone. Could we get this confirmation in just two weeks after Trump’s criticism of the Fed policy? A clear signal could be positive for the dollar but the FOMC could be wise to take its time with the decision. Affected markets: EURUSD, US500.

The Bank of England decision (Thursday, 12:00 pm GMT)

Just as the Fed is expected to stay on hold the Bank of England is expected to finally pull the trigger. Let us recall that the Bank signalled a hike for the spring of that year before but that plan had to be delayed due to mixed domestic data and Brexit uncertainties. To be frank the data has not improved tremendously but it seems like there’s a growing consensus at the BoE to get things done. In determining a reaction bear in mind that if the Bank signal that a hike is a one-and-done deal, it could eventually even hurt the currency. Affected markets: GBPUSD, UK100.

The NFP report (Friday, 1:30 pm GMT)

This is going to be a very interesting week for the US dollar with plenty of releases and the Fed decision. The NFP report on Friday is one of those key reports to keep an eye on. The last report showed the unemployment rate dipping to 3.9% but wage growth remained at a modest 2.7% y/y. Investors might find it hard to flock to the greenback unless there’s some acceleration in wage growth. One of the markets to look at is GOLD, a the precious metal has been struggling amid a period of strong US dollar. Affected markets: USDJPY, GOLD.

 EURUSD once again failed to break above the resistance zone ranging 1.1715-1.1745. The pair may get another chance to push higher this week as some crucial reports for both currencies will be released. Source: xStation5