Yahoo Finance A Choppy Day Ahead, with U.S Weekly Jobless Claims the Only Distraction
Earlier in the Day:
It was a quiet start to the day on the economic calendar on Thursday. There were no material stats out through the Asian session to provide direction in the early part of the day.
A lack of the numbers left the markets to respond to the latest coronavirus numbers and the overnight moves in the U.S.
At the time of writing, the total number of U.S cases stood at 214,482. For Italy, Spain, Germany, and France, the combined number of cases stood at 349.662. The total global number of cases rose to 934.464.
For the Majors
At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.23% to ¥107.42 against the U.S Dollar, while, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.33% to $0.6091. The Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.37% to $0.5934.
While the commodity currencies found support at the expense of the U.S Dollar and Japanese Yen, it was risk-off in the equity markets.
At the time of writing, the Nikkei was down by 0.83%, with the ASX200 down by 3.14%.
The Day Ahead:
For the EUR
It’s a quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Spanish unemployment figures are due out ahead of the European open.
The numbers are yet to reflect the impact of the coronavirus on the Spanish economy, which will mute the impact on the EUR.
Expect the news wires, the latest coronavirus numbers, and projections to provide direction on the day.
Weak economic data and a looming recession have weighed on the EUR this week. The lack of stats will leave the narrative unchanged.
At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.16% at $1.0946.
For the Pound
It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. March’s Construction PMI is due out in the early part of the day.
Barring a material slide, however, the numbers are unlikely to have a material impact on the Pound.
While economic doom and gloom and risk aversion pressure the Pound, there are a number of support mechanisms. The first is the government plans to deliver further fiscal policy support and the second is the lower number of coronavirus cases…
A slowdown in the rate of infection could eventually give the markets an alternative safe haven to consider…
At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.16% to $1.2391.
Across the Pond
It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the U.S economic calendar. Expect February factory orders and trade data to have a muted impact on the Dollar and the U.S equity markets.
The markets will be looking for a lower number of weekly initial jobless claims, however. Anything close to last week’s numbers and it will likely hit risk appetite…
As always, expect the latest coronavirus numbers to also provide direction. The markets will be hoping that the latest forecasts are on the pessimistic side…
The Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.07% to 99.603 at the time of writing.
For the Loonie
It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar, with February trade data in focus.
While the Bank of Canada has made its moves, the numbers will garner some interest. It will give a sense of what’s to come, with BoC monetary policy unlikely to soften the economic blow until late Q2…
From elsewhere, the markets will also need to monitor chatter from the Saudis, the Russians and the U.S on crude oil production intentions.
The Loonie was up by 0.08% at C$1.4179 against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing. A pickup in crude oil prices provided early support alongside a softer U.S Dollar.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
