Today's Asia session got off to a lackluster start, with most pairs trading in tight ranges. After huge moves in the NY am, and most traders still the market seemed to take a breather for the first few hours. Traders were able to take advantage, at what seemed an almost predictable 20 point range in EURUSD. USDJPY saw only a bit of strength, trying to make a run at its short term resistance levels into the 93.20s.
Although building approvals in Australia came in much better than anticipated, AUDUSD saw little benefit. The real catalyst for the pair will come later in the day with the RBA expected to make a rate announcement. The market will be looking for the Aussie benchmark rate to remain unchanged at 3%. But many wonder if a possible hike is in the cards in the near future. We expect the main focus to be the following statement from the central bank.
Upcoming Economic Data Releases (London Session)
| 9/1/2009 | 4:30 | AU | RBA CASH TARGET | 1-Sep | 3.00% | 3.00% |
| 9/1/2009 | 5:30 | AU | RBA Commodity Index SDR YoY% | AUG | -31.80% | - - |
| 9/1/2009 | 5:45 | SZ | GDP (QoQ) | 2Q | -0.80% | -1.00% |
| 9/1/2009 | 5:45 | SZ | GDP (YoY) | 2Q | -2.40% | -3.00% |
| 9/1/2009 | 6:00 | GE | Retail Sales (MoM) | JUL | -1.80% | 0.70% |
| 9/1/2009 | 6:00 | GE | Retail Sales (YoY) | JUL | -1.60% | -1.20% |
| 01-04 SEP | SEP | UK | Halifax House Prices sa (MoM) | AUG | 1.10% | 1.00% |
| 01-04 SEP | SEP | UK | Halifax House Price 3Mths/Year | AUG | -12.10% | -10.10% |
| 9/1/2009 | 7:30 | SZ | SVME-Purchasing Managers Index | AUG | 44.3 | 46.9 |
| 9/1/2009 | 7:50 | FR | PMI Manufacturing | AUG F | 50.2 | 50.2 |
| 9/1/2009 | 7:55 | GE | Unemployment Change (000's) | AUG | -6K | 30K |
| 9/1/2009 | 7:55 | GE | Unemployment Rate (s.a) | AUG | 8.30% | 8.40% |
| 9/1/2009 | 7:55 | GE | PMI Manufacturing | AUG F | 49 | 49 |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:00 | EC | PMI Manufacturing | AUG F | 47.9 | 47.9 |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | Net Consumer Credit | JUL | 0.1B | 0.1B |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | Net Lending Sec. on Dwellings | JUL | 0.3B | 0.3B |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | Mortgage Approvals | JUL | 47.6K | 50.1K |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | M4 Money Supply (MoM) | JUL F | 1.00% | - - |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | M4 Money Supply (YoY) | JUL F | 13.60% | - - |
| 9/1/2009 | 8:30 | UK | PMI Manufacturing | AUG | 50.8 | 51.5 |
| 9/1/2009 | 9:00 | EC | Euro-Zone Unemployment Rate | JUL | 9.40% | 9.50% |
