On Wednesday, the major USD cross pairs, GBPUSD, EURUSD and AUDUSD were down because of broad dollar strength. AUDUSD has recovered strongly this morning but the other pairs remain undecided.
Dollar index chart shows uptrend throughout Wednesday.
Even the great numbers from the Eurostat’s Industrial production report couldn’t save the EURUSD. Industrial production year on year was down 0.6%, better than the -3.3% that was the consensus. Industrial production Month on Month was up 2.5%, better than the +0.2% that was the consensus.
Consumer Price index report from the US were as expected. The Year on Year report remained unchanged at 1.6%, while the month on month report was 0.1%, as expected.
For today, we will have our eyes fixed on the initial jobless claim report from the US department of Labor, and the 4 week average initial jobless claim numbers. These reports should be released by 2:30 PM. The Initial Jobless Claims released by the US Department of Labor every Thursday is a measure of the number of people filing first-time claims for state unemployment insurance.
In other words, it provides a measure of strength in the labor market. A larger than expected number indicates weakness in this market which influences the strength and direction of the US economy. Generally speaking, a decreasing number should be taken as positive or bullish for the USD.
The initial jobless claim 4-week average is an indicator measuring the average number for the last four releases of the Initial Jobless Claims.
By 6:30 PM today, we will be listening to a speech from the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. The events listed herein are high market impact events. So be watchful in your trading activities.
By: Victor Nnadi
An Independent Economics Researcher
