Investors are gearing up for a potential increase in market volatility on key macroeconomic data releases on Wednesday, starting with Eurostat’s preliminary December inflation data.
Later in the day, the US economic calendar will feature ADP Employment Change for December, JOLTS Job Openings for November and the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report for December.
Following Monday’s decline, the DXY Dollar Index regained its traction on Tuesday and closed the day in positive territory. In the meantime, Wall Street’s main indexes built on weekly gains to end the day higher.
Early Wednesday, the Dollar Index holds steady at around 98.50, while US stock index futures trade mixed.
Data from Germany on Tuesday showed that annual inflation, as measured by the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), softened to 1.8% in December from 2.3% in November. Nevertheless, the Euro came under renewed bearish pressure in the American session and EURUSD lost nearly 0.3% on the day. The pair fluctuates in a tight channel slightly below 1.1700 to begin the European session on Wednesday.
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Price (HICP) in the Eurozone is forecast to rise 2% on a yearly basis in December.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported early Wednesday that the CPI rose 3.4% on a yearly basis in November. This print followed the 3.8% increase reported in November and came in below the market expectation of 3.7%.
AUDUSD continues to inch higher after closing the previous three trading days in positive territory and trades at its strongest level since October 2024 near 0.6750.
Across the pond, GBPUSD lost its traction after climbing to its highest level since mid-September near 1.3570 on Tuesday and closed the day in the red, pressured by the broad USD recovery. The pair stays in a consolidation phase near 1.3500 on Wednesday.
USDJPY moves sideways at around 156.50 after posting marginal gains on Tuesday. In the early Asian session on Thursday, Labour Cash Earnings data from Japan will be watched closely by market participants.
Following Monday’s rally, Gold preserved its bullish momentum and gained about 1% on Wednesday. XAUUSD is correcting lower on Wednesday, but manages to hold above $4,450.
Silver rose more than 10% in a two-day rally and came in within a touching distance of the record-high it set near $84 ahead of the New Year holiday. XAGUSD stays on the back foot in the European morning but trades above $80.
(Source: OANDA)
