Traders look to the FOMC meeting minutes for direction

FOMC focus

During the upcoming trading week, the release of the FOMC Meeting Minutes headlines the economic calendar. Traders and investors will scrutinize the FOMC Minutes for clues about the US central banks latest thoughts on the economy and interest rates. Market sentiment towards the US economy has recently declined, creating an environment of uncertainty towards the global economy.

This week we also see a key interest rate decision from the PBOC and German and Canadian Gross Domestic Product data. The United States economy also releases a raft of housing data and important PMI manufacturing figures from the month of October.

Monday 18th November, US Housing Market Index 

The NAHB Housing Market Index is released by the National Association of Home Builders and is based on a sample of data from homebuilders.  The Index measures present home sales and expected home buildings in the future indicating the market trend in the United States for the housing industry. The Housing Market Index is also viewed as an indicator of the direction of the US economy.

• The USDJPY pair is bearish while trading below the 108.60 level, key support is found at the 108.20 and 107.50 levels.
• If the USDJPY pair trades above the 108.60 level, buyers will likely test towards the 109.30 and 110.00 resistance levels.

Tuesday 19th November, AUD RBA Meeting Minutes

The Reserve Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes are published two weeks after the Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate decision. The RBA Meeting Minutes give a full account of the policy discussion, including factors that influenced the central banks decisions and differences of views and opinions.

• The AUDUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 0.6800 level, key technical support is found at the 0.6760 and 0.6680 levels.
• If the AUDUSD pair trades above the 0.6800 level, buyers will likely test towards the 0.6860 and 0.6915 levels.

Wednesday 20th November, Canadian CPI Inflation

The Canadian Core Consumer Price Index is released by the Bank of Canada and is a key method for measuring core inflation. Core CPI excludes energy and food prices, as these prices can be very volatile. It is the most important indicator of inflation in Canada. An increase of CPI inflation can stimulate the central bank to raise interest rates in order to manage inflation and slow economic growth.

• The USDCAD pair is only bullish while trading above the 1.3200 level, further gains towards 1.3260 and 1.3310 levels remain likely.
• If the USDCAD pair trades below the 1.3200 level, sellers may test towards the 1.3100 and 1.2990 support levels. 

Thursday 21st November, US Existing Home Sales

Existing Home Sales measures the recorded sales of pre-owned homes in the US economy. Due to the sensitivity of the housing market to the business cycle, this report tends to be a valuable indicator of the economy as housing is an important factor. Used home sellers generally use capital gains from property sales on consumption which has the tendency of stimulating the economy. 

• The USDCHF pair is only bearish while trading below the 0.9920 level, key support is found at the 0.9860 and 0.9750 levels.
• If the USDCHF pair holds above the 0.9920 level, buyers may test the 0.9950 and 0.9985 resistance levels. 

Friday 22nd November, German Q3 GDP

German GDP is released by Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland and is considered a key indicator for determining the health of the German economy German Gross Domestic Product is one the primary indicators used to evaluate the health of a country's economy. GDP is generally calculated on a quarterly and annual basis and is closely watched by all market participants. 

• The EURUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 1.1040 level, further losses towards the 1.1020 and 1.0980 levels remains possible.
• If the EURUSD pair holds above the 1.1040 level, buyers are likely to test towards the 1.1080 and 1.1170 resistance levels.