Global financial markets are heading towards the end of a wild week during which major central banks, namely Fed and ECB, triggered massive volatility spikes. The final pre-Christmas week will not be as busy in terms of macro events and data releases but there are some events scheduled that may see market volatility pick-up. Be sure to watch USDCAD, AUDJPY and NATGAS next week..
USDCAD
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Open real account TRY DEMO Download mobile app Download mobile appWhile next week’s data releases are unlikely to overshadow strong hawkish messages sent by Fed and ECB this week, they may still trigger some additional short-term volatility. USDCAD will be on watch next week as traders will be offered some data from Canada and the United States. On the CAD-side, the focus will be on the retail sales report for October (Tuesday, 1:30 pm GMT), CPI report for November (Wednesday, 1:30 pm GMT) and monthly GDP report for October (Friday, 1:30 pm GMT). When it comes to USD-side, traders will look at Conference Board index for December (Wednesday, 3:00 pm GMT), core PCE for November (Friday, 1:30 pm GMT) and durable goods orders for November (Friday, 3:00 pm GMT).
AUDJPY
Central banks have ensured that this week was not a boring one. While next week will not see decisions from heavyweights like Fed or ECB, traders will get a rate decision from Bank of Japan and RBA minutes on Tuesday. BoJ is unlikely to change the level of rates but as rumors of a potential policy review mount, traders will look for hints about what the outlook for Japanese policy could be in the future. RBA hinted that a peak in rates is nearing at its December 6, 2022 meeting and investors will look for more hints in minutes. AUDJPY failed to break above 93.00 last week and turned lower.
NATGAS
Weather forecasts for the second half of December have improved somewhat but still point to below-average temperatures in the east part of the United States. As such an above-average natural gas consumption, due to increased heating needs, may be set to continue what could exert upward pressure on NATGAS. US natural gas prices have been trading sideways this week but with below-average temperatures forecasted, another attempt at breaking above $7 per MMBTu cannot be ruled out.
