A couple of light releases in the day ahead
The dollar fluffed around yesterday but managed to hold its ground somewhat, especially against the commodity currencies and also the pound before settling into narrower ranges so far in trading today.
US equities and Treasuries offered very little for the market to work with, as stocks were largely flat and little changed for yet another session this week.
Things are shaping up to be more of the same today so we will have to wait and see what sort of clues the market will latch on to ahead of the latter stages. Here's some food for thought from two days back given the current dynamics in the market.
0600 GMT - Germany February factory orders data
Prior release can be found here. The better PMI readings in the manufacturing sector should translate to the report above but it is quite a lagging indicator as the market is more focused on the outlook going into 2H 2021 currently.
0645 GMT - France February trade balance data
Prior release can be found here. Overall trade conditions continue to slowly pick back up towards pre-virus levels and it will still take some time for that to happen.
0700 GMT - Switzerland March foreign currency reserves
Prior release can be found here. A rough indication of forex intervention by the SNB to limit the strength in the Swiss franc, which hasn't been prevalent this year.
0830 GMT - UK March construction PMI
Prior release can be found here. Construction activity saw a modest bounce back last in February and some of that should also spill over to March as well, with much optimism surrounding reopening prospects in the UK economy.
0900 GMT - Eurozone February PPI figures
Prior release can be found here. A proxy and lagging indicator of inflation pressures in the euro area economy. A minor data point.
1130 GMT - ECB releases the account of its March policy meeting
This relates to the 11 March monetary policy meeting here. There shouldn't be much that hasn't already been communicated but yesterday's PEPP data was rather underwhelming so that is something the ECB may look to address moving forward, to reassure market confidence in keeping their commitment to stepping up the pace of purchases.
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.
