- China’s PM Wen: Willing to cooperate with Europe to fight crisis
- IMF’s Shinohara: Japan likely to continue to take appropriate action against excessive forex moves, including intervention
- Euro zone January services PMI 50.4, little changed from flash 50.5
- UK January services PMI 56.0 vs 54.0 in December, much better than median forecast of 53.5 and highest read since March 2011
- Euro zone December retail sales -0.4% m/m, -1.6% y/y, weaker than Reuter’s median forecasts of +0.3%, -1.3% respectively. But November data revised upwards; -0.4% m/m (prev -0.8%), -1.5% y/y (prev -2.5%)
- ECB’s Costa: Systemic risk is affecting euro area and threatening single currency
EUR/USD marginally firmer at 1.3172 from early 1.3135, having been as high as 1.3183 in relatively listless trade as market awaits US jobs data.
Middle East buying noted early, lending support. Talk of sell orders clustered now up at 1.3200/20, buy stops gathered above there.
Cable up marginally at 1.5840 from early 1.5815, having been as high as 1.5860. Very good services PMI data (see above) has lent underpinning.
USD/JPY pretty much unchanged at 76.20. Still talk of Japanese buy interest ahead of 76.00. Sell stops seen below 76.00, 75.80 and 75.50. I was reading a piece by a large US commercial bank yesterday, which stated sell stops through 75.50 likely to be huge!!!
Hope ya’ll have a great weekend now. And very good luck to those trading through the US numbers
