By ForexMansion.com
Sentiment this week will be driven by central bank meetings and speeches by officials, although developments from Japan, Libya and the Middle East, alongside sovereign debt concerns from Europe will continue to make news.
Despite uncertainties that continue to dominate, optimism about the strengthening global economic recovery after the US presented a better than expected jobs report on Friday, brought gains in Asia today as sentiment improved.
Risk appetite continues to augment, therefore currency markets continue to be subjected to tests as the US dollar continues to fall against the euro, the pound and Australian dollar; the yen, however, continues to decline against the greenback.
The ECB, BoE, and Australian central bank will release their interest rate decisions this week, the US Federal Reserve is expected to release its FOMC minutes on Tuesday, while BoJ will held a meeting on Wednesday to assess the economy.
The ECB is expected to raise rates in an attempt to fight inflation, building a solid foundation for the euro that hit a five months high against the dollar; while the BoE and Australian central bank are expected to keep rates unchanged. BoJ, however, might downgrade its economic assessment, bringing the yen negative momentum.
Europe today released the PPI numbers for February, which rose as expected by 0.8%; while UK released its PMI construction that rose to 56.4 from 54.8 in March, as expected. The US will not release any major data today, but the ISM non-manufacturing and the Fed’s FOMC Meeting Minutes will be published on Tuesday.
Gold continues to consolidate near its record highs above the 1433.00 dollars, while oil is slowly pushed to the upside above the 108 dollar as the dollar faces more downward pressures. The unrest in Libya persists as the recovering US economy could increase demand on oil.
Originally posted here
