To say that last week was lively for most traders would be something of an understatement, and for those involved in precious metals and now crypto products, it would be something of an insult. Precious metals saw huge moves north for most of the week before massive corrections on Friday, and traders are expecting to see more chaos in the days ahead.
In addition to that volatility, we also saw President Trump name his next Fed Chair, the Fed and Bank of Canada hold rates as expected, and a bit of a mixed bag from earnings reports.
The week ahead looks like things could get messier for traders, as they have to initially react to Friday’s hectic moves before then taking in a very full events calendar, involving central rate calls, key data, and major companies’ earnings reports — as well as more anticipated geopolitical updates.
Here is our usual day-by-day breakdown of the major risk events this week:
The calendar is relatively quiet on Monday for most sessions; however, traders are anticipating big moves across all markets as they adjust to Friday’s volatility. The US session does see the release of US ISM Manufacturing PMI data, but the impact is expected to be minimal in the current environment.
Australian markets will be in focus in the Asian session, with the RBA due to update the market on its latest interest rate call. There is nothing of note to move the dial in the London session, although we have the first of four jobs updates out of the US early in the New York day, with the JOLTS Job Openings numbers due out.
It is a full calendar day on Wednesday, with key data updates due across all three trading sessions. New Zealand markets will be the early focus for the Asian session, with employment data due out early in the day. The London session will see the initial focus on European markets, with key CPI numbers due for release, and we have more US data due once New York opens, with both the ADP Non-Farm Payrolls scheduled alongside the ISM Services PMI data.
It’s a heavy central bank day on Thursday. There is nothing scheduled during the Asian session, but the London day sees both the Bank of England and the ECB scheduled to release their decisions on interest rates during the session. The New York session has the weekly US unemployment claims numbers scheduled, as well as updates from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and the Fed’s Raphael Bostic.
It is Non-Farm Payrolls day on Friday; however, the initial focus for the day will be on Australian markets, with RBA Governor Michelle Bullock set to testify in Canberra early in the session. There is little of note on the calendar in London today; however, the New York session sees the release of those key US employment numbers alongside the Canadian employment data. Later in the session, the preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment and inflation numbers are scheduled.
