Market Roundup
•Italian Dec Composite PMI 54.7 forecast,57.6 previous
•Italian Dec Services PMI 53.0, 54.0 forecast, 55.9 previous
•French Dec Services PMI 57.0, 57.1 forecast, 57.4 previous
•German Dec Services PMI 48.7, 48.4 forecast, 52.7 previous
•EU Dec Services PMI 53.1, 53.3 forecast, 55.9 previous
•EU Dec Markit Composite PMI 53.3 forecast, 53.4 forecast, 55.4 previous
•Italian Dec CPI (YoY) 3.9%, 3.9% forecast, 3.7% previous
Looking Ahead - Economic Data (GMT)
•13:15 US Dec ADP Nonfarm Employment Change 400K forecast,534K previous
•13:30 Canada Nov New Housing Price Index (MoM) 0.7% forecast, 0.9% previous
•13:30 Canada Nov Building Permits (MoM) 2.3% forecast, 1.3% previous
•13:30 Canada Nov New Housing Price Index (MoM) 0.5% forecast, 0.9% previous
•14:45 US Dec Markit Composite PMI 56.9 previous
•14:45 US Dec Services PMI 57.5 forecast, 58.0 previous
•15:30 US Gasoline Inventories 1.775M forecast, -1.458M previous
•15:30 US Crude Oil Inventories -3.283M forecast, -3.576M previous
Looking Ahead - Economic events and other releases (GMT)
•19:00 US FOMC Meeting Minutes
Fxbeat
EUR/USD: The euro strengthened against dollar on Wednesday but gains were limited as investors waited for the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. Markets await the Fed's minutes of its Dec. 14-15, 2021 policy meeting, due at 1900 GMT, which could provide clues on the U.S. central bank's plan on rate hikes and the tapering of its pandemic-induced stimulus. Markets have ramped up bets on a quarter percentage point rate increase by March and fully priced one in by May. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.1320(5DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.1334 (23.6%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.1303 (38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 1.1277 (50%fib).
GBP/USD: The pound held just shy of a two-month high on Wednesday as investors ramped up expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates as early as next month after a surprise hike in December. And growing expectations that Britain will not introduce COVID-19 measures clamping down on economic activity was also boosting the stock market . Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said that England could withstand a surge in COVID-19 infections without shutting down the economy as Britain reported another record daily high in cases fuelled by the Omicron variant. Immediate resistance can be seen at 1.3548 (23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 1.3593 (Higher BB).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 1.3513(5DMA), a break below could take the pair towards 1.3477(38.2%fib).
USD/CHF: The dollar dipped against the Swiss franc on Wednesday as investors geared up for Federal reserve meeting later in US session. Markets await the Fed's minutes of its Dec. 14-15, 2021 policy meeting, due at 1900 GMT, which could provide clues on the U.S. central bank's plan on rate hikes and the tapering of its pandemic-induced stimulus. Immediate resistance can be seen at 0.9161 (11DMA), an upside break can trigger rise towards 0.9190 (23.6%fib).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 0.9144(38.2% fib), a break below could take the pair towards 0.9123(Lower BB).
USD/JPY: The U.S. dollar dipped versus the yen on Wednesday ahead of release of the U.S. Federal Reserve's December meeting minutes, which could provide more clues about the timing of any rate hikes. Investors will also focus on U.S. labour data due on Wednesday and non-farm payrolls numbers expected later this week for a guide to the normalisation timeline. Strong data prints could reinforce the Fed's hawkish bias and further support the dollar. Strong resistance can be seen at 116.23(23.6%fib), an upside break can trigger rise towards 117.00 (Psychological level).On the downside, immediate support is seen at 115.53 (38.2%fib), a break below could take the pair towards 115.18(50%fib).
Equities Recap
European shares inched higher on Wednesday, as gains in auto, chemical and oil stocks helped counter concerns about tighter U.S. monetary policy and regulatory crackdowns in China.
At (GMT 11:03 ),UK's benchmark FTSE 100 was last trading up at 0.21 percent, Germany's Dax was up by 0.66 percent, France’s CAC was last up by 0.50 percent.
Commodities Recap
Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as rising Omicron virus cases supported its safe-haven appeal, but trading was range-bound as investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting as rate hike bets grow.
Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,818.79 per ounce at 1025 GMT, with U.S. gold futures rising 0.3% to $1,819.50.
Oil prices slipped below $80 a barrel on Wednesday after OPEC+ producers stuck to an agreed output target rise for February and investors assessed the impact of a spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant.
Brent crude futures were down 18 cents, or 0.23%, to $79.82 a barrel by 0945 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 23 cents, or 0.3%, to $76.76.
