FOMC minutes and Powell speech headline the economic calendar

Central bank action

The release of FOMC meeting minutes headlines the economic calendar this week alongside a scheduled speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. When the FOMC Meeting Minutes is released market participants will be looking closely at the language used by US policymakers, as the upcoming July 31st policy meeting nears. Investors will also be focused on a scheduled speech and testimony from FED Chair Powell later this week.

This week we also see and a key rate decision from the Bank of Canada and a key inflation and jobs data from the American economy. The United Kingdom economy also releases important trade, manufacturing, industrial production and monthly GDP data.

Monday 8th July, EU German Industrial Production

German Industrial Production is released by Statistisches Deutschland and measures the output of the German factories and mines. Changes in Industrial production are widely followed and provide a major indication of strength or weakness in the European manufacturing sector. A high reading is generally seen as positive for the euro currency, whereas a low reading is seen as negative or bearish for the euro currency.

• The EURUSD pair is bearish while trading below the 1.1280 level, key support is found at the 1.1205 and 1.1170 levels.
• If the EURUSD pair moves above the 1.1280 level, buyers will likely test towards the 1.1310 and 1.1380 resistance levels.

Tuesday 9th July, USD FED Chair Powell Speech

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a scheduled speech to market participants on Tuesday, where traders and investors will assess his latest thoughts on the United States and global economy. If Federal Reserve Chair Powell sounds more dovish towards the US economy it will be taken as US dollar negative, while a more hawkish or upbeat tone will likely be taken as supportive for the US dollar currency.

• The USDJPY pair is bearish while trading below the 108.45 level, key technical support is found at the 107.50 and 106.40 levels.
• If the USDJPY pair trades above the 108.45 level, buyers will likely test towards the 109.00 and 109.90 levels.

Wednesday 10th July, USD FOMC Meeting Minutes

The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes gives some of the best insights into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision-making process, and how the Federal Reserve currently thinks about economic developments inside and outside of the United States economy. The FOMC organize eight meetings in a year to give a clear guide to the future US interest rate policy.

•  The USDCHF pair is bullish while trading above the 0.9990 level, key resistance is found at the 1.0050 and 1.0100 levels.
• If the USDCHF pair trades below the 0.9990 level, sellers may test towards the 0.9910 and 0.9845 support levels.

Thursday 11th July, USD US Consumer Price Index

The Consumer Price Index released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. CPI is used as the headline figure for inflation and in terms of inflation measurement, CPI is the most obvious way to quantify fluctuations in purchasing power. The report is also important as the Federal Reserve watches the US CPI measure closely.

•  The USDCAD pair is bearish while trading below the 1.320 level, further losses towards the 1.3050 and 1.2990 levels remains possible.
• If the USDCAD pair trades above the 1.3200 level, buyers are likely to test towards the 1.3255 and 1.3290 resistance levels.

Friday 12th July, CNH Chinese Exports

Chinese exports data is released by National Bureau Statistics of China and measures the total transactions in goods and services from residents to non-residents. Chinese export data is a generally considered to be a measure of the health Chinese economy. Weaker than expected export data may point to a weakening Chinese economy, as trade tariffs from the Trump administration impact manufacturing and factories in the world’s second largest economy.

• The AUDUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 0.6965 level, further losses towards the 0.6935 and 0.6915 levels remains possible.
• If the AUDUSD pair trades above the 0.6965 level, buyers are likely to test towards the 0.7035 and 0.7070 resistance levels.