By FX Empire.com
Economic Events: (GMT)
13:30 USD Trade Balance -48.4B -47.8B
The Trade Balance measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services over the reported period. A positive number indicates that more goods and services were exported than imported.
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
14:55 USD Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index 74.3 75.0
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rates the relative level of current and future economic conditions. There are two versions of this data released two weeks apart, preliminary and revised. The preliminary data tends to have a greater impact. The reading is compiled from a survey of around 500 consumers.
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
17:30 USD Fed Chairman Bernanke Speaks
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (February 2006 – January 2014) is to speak. As head of the Fed, which controls short term interest rates, he has more influence over the U.S. dollar’s value than any other person. Traders closely watch his speeches as they are often used to drop hints regarding future monetary policy.
His comments may determine a short-term positive or negative trend.
19:00 USD Federal Budget Balance -65.2B -86.0B
The Federal Budget Balance measures the difference in value between the federal government’s income and expenditure during the reported month. A positive number indicates a budget surplus, a negative number indicates a deficit.
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.
USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis February 10, 2012, Forecast
Analysis and Recommendations:
The USD/CAD is currently trading 0.9947 after opening at 0.9960, like most of the global currencies, it was a day of drastic ups and downs.
Todays activity was all based on the strength and weakness of the greenback. The morning started out with the USD up against its trading partners, based on worries from Greece. The Prime Minister was heading to Brussels without a complete deal. Later in the day, was the Unemployment Initial claims data which is a good indicator of whether layoffs are rising or falling. They’ve declined sharply since last summer, meaning that more people are finding work or fewer are losing their jobs.
Jobless claims dropped by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000 in the week ended Feb. 4, the Labor Department said. That’s near a four-year low. This was great news for the US as the data supported last weeks data that unemployment had dropped to 8.3% from 8.5%. This news should spur a round of consumer confidence and help spending in the US. This also supports economists statements that the US economy is turning around. The dollar gained on this news, but was weakened by the news on Greece.
Shortly after the release of the economic news, a statement was released from Greece announcing a deal between political parties to support and implement the austerity measures demanded for the bailout. Markets should be fairly quiet on Friday as the crisis seems to be behind us for the time being. Economic data from the US should have some effects on the USD
Also on Friday, Canadian Trade Balance figures are due, the forecast is 0.7 billion, against last months 1.1billion. Historically this report has always been good in Canada. A better then expected report could give the CAD some strength.
Thursdays Economic Reports ( actual v. forecast )
|
AUD |
1.00 |
-3.00 |
||
|
KRW |
3.25% |
3.25% |
3.25% |
|
|
CNY |
4.5% |
4.0% |
4.1% |
|
|
CNY |
0.7% |
0.8% |
1.7% |
|
|
CHF |
-19 |
-22 |
-24 |
|
|
GBP |
0.5% |
0.2% |
-0.5% |
|
|
GBP |
1.0% |
0.3% |
-0.1% |
|
|
GBP |
-7.1B |
-8.4B |
-8.9B |
|
|
GBP |
0.50% |
0.50% |
0.50% |
|
|
EUR |
1.00% |
1.00% |
1.00% |
|
|
USD |
358K |
370K |
373K |
|
|
EUR |
||||
|
USD |
3515K |
3525K |
3451K |
|
|
MXN |
4.0% |
4.0% |
3.8% |
|
|
GBP |
-0.2% |
-0.2% |
Scheduled Sovereign Bond Sales
Feb 10 11:00 Belgium OLO auction
Originally posted here
