Euro area final services PMI for July on the agenda today
Gold is stealing the headlines after the overnight move above $2,000 for the first time ever. Meanwhile, the dollar is failing to hang on to any momentum amid another decent outing for US equities with the S&P 500 climbing above 3,300.
Treasury yields continue to sink further and with real yields sitting further in negative territory, it continues to build the case for stronger gains in gold in the bigger picture.
There are concerns about technical exhaustion for the time being though, but the long-term outlook for gold remains stellar as ever so one can always expect dip buyers.
Looking ahead, there is little in the economic calendar in Europe to shake things up so expect the focus to stay on the same things i.e. US stimulus talks, dollar flows, and virus developments in general. Oh, let's not forget the 'big jobs number' on Friday too.
0715 GMT - Spain July services, composite PMI
0745 GMT - Italy July services, composite PMI
0750 GMT - France July final services, composite PMI
0755 GMT - Germany July final services, composite PMI
0800 GMT - Eurozone July final services, composite PMI
Focus will be on the final readings for France, Germany, and the overall Eurozone. But as these are final readings, don't expect much to shift the dial in the market as they will mainly reaffirm better sentiment for now with the outlook still clouded by a potential deterioration in labour market conditions over the coming months.
0830 GMT - UK July final services, composite PMI
The preliminary release can be found here. As this is the final release, it should just reaffirm a solid bounce back in economic activity in July but any sustainable recovery is still subject to how labour market conditions will hold up in the coming months.
0900 GMT - Eurozone June retail sales data
Prior release can be found here. Retail sales are expected to rebound further in June, as lockdown restrictions are eased further across the region. That said, the improvement may still be largely to do with pent-up demand and it remains to be seen if consumption can hold up at this pace over the coming months and especially in Q4.
1100 GMT - US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 31 July
Weekly US housing data, measures the change in number of applications for mortgages backed by the MBA during the week. The focus will once again be on purchases as that has been one of the more bullish spots outlining that US economic conditions are not as dire as first suggested by the recent dip due to the coronavirus impact.
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.
