JAPANESE DATA AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN THE LIMELIGHT

HOLIDAY SEASON TRADING

During the upcoming trading week financial market activity will start to dissipate due to the Christmas holiday period. However, the Japanese economic calendar remains active, as we see the release of the Bank of Japan Meeting Minutes, Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Statement, Japanese Consumer Price Inflation and Japanese Unemployment data.

The German economy also releases important CPI data and we see Economic Confidence and a slew of housing data from the United States economy.

The cryptocurrency market is also likely to remain active after last weeks strong rebound, traders and investors will be watching the latest moves in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin over the holiday season with great interest.

Monday 24th December, USD Chicago Fed National Activity Index

The Chicago Fed National Activity Index is a monthly economic indicator and is released by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank that tracks economic activity. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index is a weighted average of eighty-five indicators based on US economic data covering production, income, employment, personal consumption, housing, manufacturing, trade sales, inventories, and orders.

• The GBPUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 1.2660 level, key support is found at the 1.2528 and 1.2470 levels.
• If the GBPUSD pair trades above the 1.2660 level, buyers may test towards the 1.2710 and 1.2800 resistance levels.

Tuesday 25th December, Christmas Day

Financial markets and Banks will be closed in observance of Christmas Day.

Wednesday 26th December, JPY BOJ Policy Statement

The Bank of Japan releases the official Policy Statement from the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting last week. The Policy Statement communicates board members views regarding interest rates and other policy measures, as well as the economic conditions influencing their decision. The statement also gives vital clues to future changes in monetary policy.

• The USDJPY pair is bearish while trading below the 111.80 level, key support is found at the 110.80 and 110.10 levels.
• If the USDJPY pair moves above the 111.80 level, buyers may test the 112.20 and 112.80 resistance levels.

Thursday 27th December, USD US Consumer Confidence

The US Consumer Confidence Index is released by the US Conference Board and measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity. The US Conference Board index has the largest pooling sample of any measure of consumer confidence, making the US Consumer Confidence Index a key barometer of the health of the US economy from the perspective of the consumer.

• The EURUSD pair is bearish while trading below the 1.1410 level, key support is found at the 1.1360 and 1.1216 levels.
• If the EURUSD pair moves above the 1.1410 level, buyers may test the 1.1480 and 1.1550 resistance levels.

Friday 28th December, EUR German Consumer Price Index

The German Consumer Price Index is released by Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland and measures the average price change for all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. CPI is the main indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. The December reading is expected to show German CPI increasing by 0.3 per cent, which is better than previous months 0.1 per cent increase.

• The EURJPY pair is bearish while trading below the 1.2850 level, further downside towards the 1.2550 and 1.2480 levels seems likely.
• If the EURJPY pair trades above the 1.2850 level, buyers may test towards the 1.2940 and 1.3010 resistance levels.