The Week Ahead – Central Bank Chatter, COVID-19, and Stats from China and the U.S Key

For the Dollar:

December inflation figures will be in focus on Wednesday along with wholesale inflation numbers on Thursday. Expect plenty of interest in the numbers, with inflation key to the FED’s policy moves for the year.

On Thursday, jobless claims will also draw interest ahead of retail sales and consumer sentiment figures on Friday.

With the markets now zoomed in on the FED, FED Chair Powell is due to give testimony on Tuesday before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban affairs. Expect plenty of market interest, with FOMC member chatter in the week also needing consideration.

In the week ending 7^th January, the Dollar Spot Index rose by 0.05% to 95.719.

For the EUR:

Unemployment and industrial production figures for the Eurozone will be the key stats early in the week. On Friday, Eurozone trade data will also draw interest.

Finalized member state inflation figures due out in the week should have a muted impact, however, barring any upward revisions.

On the monetary policy front, the markets will be looking for any shift in ECB stance on inflation. ECB President Lagarde is scheduled to speak in the week.

For the week, the EUR slipped by 0.08% to $1.1361.

For the Pound:

It’s a relatively busy week ahead on the economic calendar.

Industrial and manufacturing production figures are due out on Friday along with GDP and trade data.

Expect the GDP and manufacturing production figures to be key.

The Pound rose by 0.41% to end the week at $1.3588.

For the Loonie:

It’s a particularly quiet week ahead on the economic calendar.

There are no major stats due out of Canada to provide the Loonie with direction. With no stats to consider, the Loonie will be in the hands of crude oil prices and market risk sentiment.

The Loonie ended the week down 0.05% to C$1.2643 against the U.S Dollar.