A relatively quiet week in financial markets with economic releases being few and far between, the political scene being less of a circus (relatively speaking), geopolitical tensions becoming a little more subdued and central bankers very much sticking to the agreed lines.
While I doubt this will become the new norm, the week ahead may not be a million miles from it as the economic calendar is looking a little thin again, with focus primarily on China and the UK. With the ECB meeting taking place the week after, close attention will be paid to comments from policy makers, although these will be condensed to the first half of the week.
We’re not short of the usual theatre, with Catalonia having a deadline of Monday to declare independence officially or not, the result of which could cause more unrest in the region. The unpredictability of the geopolitical environment means risk aversion is always bubbling away under the surface and could rear its ugly head at any time.
On a brighter note, equity markets have been in very good shape in recent weeks with new highs being recorded over and over again, particularly in the US. With earnings season now upon us, these levels will be tested, especially as central banks everywhere make plans to return monetary policy to something that resembles normal.
Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam discusses all of this and more, and also gives his analysis on EUR/USD (8:44), GBP/USD (10:10), EUR/GBP (11:34), AUD/USD (12:35), USD/CAD (13:48), GBP/CAD (15:28), NZD/USD (16:36), USD/JPY (17:27), GBP/JPY (18:35) and EUR/JPY (19:53).