29 Oct 2013
European open: continued light trading ahead of the Fed
FXstreet.com (London) - Yesterday saw quiet trading in advance of today’s Fed meeting. Equities continued to climb with the S&P hitting highs at 1,762.11, up 0.13 percent, while the Dow was flat on the day at 15,568.93.
Dollar activity followed the mixed bag of US data – a mixed bag with industrial production beating expectations, but some soft data checked any gains with pending home sales and Dallas manufacturing activity disappointing.
EUR/USD swung between USD1.3770 and USD1.3794 before finishing flat at USD1.3787.
AUD and NZD both came under pressure. AUD/USD fell to USD0.9516, down 0.59 percent. NZD/USD lost 0.18 percent to USD0.8273 after hitting lows at USD0.8258.
Today is a data-heavy day for the US. The most anticipated will be September retail sales and October Conference Board consumer confidence. Retail sales consensus expectation is flat month-on-month and up 0.5 percent ex- autos.
Consumer confidence is expected to take a knock after the US government shutdown earlier this month with consensus expectations for a drop to 75.0 from 79.7 last month.
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting today, when it is expected that the central bank will maintain its current levels following disappointing labour market data and concerns over the fragility of any US recovery.
In the UK, Bank of England mortgage approvals could beat consensus expectations for September of 66,000. Last month’s approval numbers reached a five-year high which could be beaten today.
Dollar activity followed the mixed bag of US data – a mixed bag with industrial production beating expectations, but some soft data checked any gains with pending home sales and Dallas manufacturing activity disappointing.
EUR/USD swung between USD1.3770 and USD1.3794 before finishing flat at USD1.3787.
AUD and NZD both came under pressure. AUD/USD fell to USD0.9516, down 0.59 percent. NZD/USD lost 0.18 percent to USD0.8273 after hitting lows at USD0.8258.
Today is a data-heavy day for the US. The most anticipated will be September retail sales and October Conference Board consumer confidence. Retail sales consensus expectation is flat month-on-month and up 0.5 percent ex- autos.
Consumer confidence is expected to take a knock after the US government shutdown earlier this month with consensus expectations for a drop to 75.0 from 79.7 last month.
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting today, when it is expected that the central bank will maintain its current levels following disappointing labour market data and concerns over the fragility of any US recovery.
In the UK, Bank of England mortgage approvals could beat consensus expectations for September of 66,000. Last month’s approval numbers reached a five-year high which could be beaten today.