THE US DOLLAR LOOKS TO NEXT WEEK RETAIL SALES NUMBERS FOR GUIDANCE

THE US DOLLAR LOOKS TO NEXT WEEK RETAIL SALES NUMBERS FOR GUIDANCE

The first week of the year brought plenty of volatility as the Chinese market circuit breakers halted trading in local stock markets a couple of times as investors were selling off equities, causing a global rout that forced the government of China into action.

The EUR appreciated versus the USD 0.17 percent this week. The strong U.S. non-farm payrolls report posted a solid 292,000 jobs gain in December. The forecast called for a gain of 200,000. The big gain in the headline NFP number did not translate to wage increases, which did not appreciate the dollar. The USD was temporarily boosted by the release, but as traders had already priced in a solid number and the lack of inflationary signs put the EUR/USD back above 1.09.

The Bank of England will release its monetary policy summary and minutes on Thursday, January 14 at 7:00 am EST. U.S. retail sales will be the highlight for the EUR/USD as the United States struggles to convince consumers to spend heavily. It remains to be seen if the holiday discounts managed to drive store sales higher. The U.S. retail sales data will be published on Friday, January 15 at 8:30 am EST.