The economic calendar will be flooded with PMI data on Monday, giving investors the latest glimpse into the Eurozone and US economies.
IHS Markit will release the final batch of Eurozone PMI figures beginning at 08:15 GMT with a report on Spain’s services industry. Later in the morning, Markit will release French, Germany and Eurozone Composite PMI. The Composite indicator tracks the performance of the manufacturing and services industries.
At 09:30 GMT, a report on the UK’s services industry will also make headlines.
Sentix is also scheduled to release its monthly investor confidence index for February. The comprehensive survey is based on consultations with 1,600 financial analysts and institutional investors.
The European Commission’s statistical agency will report on retail sales Monday. Receipts at retail stores are forecast to fall 1% in December following a 1.5% increase the month before. This translates into an annualized rate of 1.8%.
The US session will also feature headline PMI data, with Markit and the Institute for Supply Management reporting. The ISM’s report on US services activity is expected to show a PMI reading of 56.3, which is a slight uptick from the previous month.
Earlier in the session, Caixin China reported a stronger services PMI report for January that pointed to a strong uptrend in the world’s second largest economy. The Caixin services PMI strengthened to a reading of 54.7 from 43.9 in December on a scale of 1-100 where 20 represents the historic average.
In the currency markets, the US dollar was off to a soft start Monday, as it fell slightly against a basket of world peers. The dollar index is down more than 3% since the start of 2018 and is currently trading near three-year lows.
EUR/USD
The euro was little changed at the start of Monday trading. The pair consolidated at the end of last week following the release of better than expected US jobs data. However, the report failed to generate a sustained rally for the greenback. As such, the EUR/USD continues to trade around 1.2460. The pair face immediate resistance at the psychological 1.2500 level. On the downside, support is located at 1.2435.
GBP/USD
Pound sterling has fallen sharply from Friday highs of 1.4265 US, where it was testing 20-month highs. Cable is now trading in the low 1.41 range. Despite the recent slide, the pair remains in a firm uptrend that could see prices barrel higher in the near term.
USD/CAD
The USD/CAD rallied on Friday to retake the 1.2400 handle. At the start of Monday’s Asian session, the pair had successfully maintained that level. However, the short term outlook continues to favour the Canadian dollar, which is benefiting from a stronger economy and rising interest rates.
