Economic Data Puts the EUR and the Loonie in Focus

Earlier in the Day:

It was another quiet start to the day on the economic calendar this morning. There were no major stats to provide the markets with direction in the early part of the Asian session.

On the monetary policy front, the RBA meeting minutes were in focus, however.

For the Aussie Dollar

Salient points from the RBA Meeting Minutes included:

• Members noted that the Australian economy was rapidly recovering after the interruption to growth caused by the Delta outbreak.
• High rates of vaccination and substantial policy support continued to underpin the recovery. The emergence of the Omicron variant was a new source of uncertainty but was unlikely to derail the recovery.
• Demand is expected to lead to strong employment growth, with the unemployment rate expected to trend lower to around 4% by end of 2023.
• Members observed that inflation had increased, but remained low in underlying terms. The central forecast was for underlying inflation to reach 2.5% over 2023.
• Vis-à-vis bond purchases, members reaffirmed that the decision in Feb-22 would depend on inflation and risks to the recovery posed by the Omicron variant.
• On cash rates, the Board will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2-3% target range. This will require the labor market to be tight enough to generate wages growth that is materially higher than it is currently. This is likely to take some time and the Board is prepared to be patient.

The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.71017 to $0.71062 upon release of the minutes. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up by 0.08% to $0.7118.

Elsewhere

At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.01% to ¥113.620 against the U.S Dollar, while the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.18% to $0.6725.

The Day Ahead

For the EUR

It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Consumer sentiment figures for Germany and the Eurozone will be in focus today. With governments rolling out new restrictions to curb the spread of the Omicron virus, a slide in confidence would test EUR support.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.03% to $1.1282.

For the Pound

It’s particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There were no material stats due out of the UK to provide the Pound with direction. The lack of stats will leave the Pound in the hands of COVID-19 news on the day.

At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.05% to $1.3213.

Across the Pond

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. There are no major stats to draw interest, leaving any FOMC member chatter to influence.

At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down by 0.07% to 96.502.

For the Loonie

It’s a relatively busy day ahead on the economic data front. October retail sales and November house price figures are due out. Expect the retail sales figures to be key, however.

At the time of writing, the Loonie was up by 0.15% to C$1.2921 against the U.S Dollar.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.