Investing.com – The week beginning October 18 comes after one which saw the euro surge to a 10-month high against the broadly weaker U.S. dollar, before paring gains following circumspect remarks on the outlook for further monetary easing by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
EUR/USD hit 1.4157 on Friday, the pair’s highest since January 26; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3975 by close of trade on Friday, gaining 0.13% over the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 1.3774, the low of October 12 and resistance at 1.4294, the high of January 20.
The euro’s gains came after the minutes of the September 21 meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee showed that "many participants" believed "it would be appropriate to provide additional monetary policy accommodation" if unemployment remained too high or inflation too low.
But the euro pared gains after Bernanke said on Friday that there was a case for further monetary easing but said officials "will take account of the potential costs and risks" of further easing. He also said that any action would be "contingent on incoming information about the economic outlook and financial conditions."
Next week will see the U.S. release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, as well as important data on building permits, housing starts, manufacturing activity and foreign investment while the Federal Reserve is to publish its Beige Book.
Meanwhile, the euro zone is to produce key data on German economic sentiment and business climate. Germany is also to produce important data on inflation.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect EUR/USD.
Monday, October 18
The U.S. will being the week by publishing official data on the difference in value between foreign long-term securities purchased by U.S. citizens and U.S. long-term securities purchased by foreigners. The country is also to release official data on the capacity utilization rate as well as data on industrial production, a leading indicator of economic health.
Tuesday, October 19
The U.S. is to publish official data on building permits and housing starts, both leading indicators of health in the housing sector.
The euro zone is to publish data on the regions current account while the ZEW Centre for Economic Research is to publish key data on German economic sentiment as well as data on economic center in the wider euro zone.
Wednesday, October 20
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is to release its Beige Book, a summary of the data the bank examines before setting the benchmark interest rate. The U.S. is also set to produce data on crude oil inventories.
In the euro zone, Germany is to publish data on its producer price index, a leading indicator of consumer inflation.
Thursday, October 21
The U.S. is to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is due to release a report on the city’s manufacturing sector. The country is also due to publish an index of leading economic indicators, designed to predict the future direction of the economy.
Also Thursday, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, James Bullard is to speak at a public engagement. His comments will be closely watched for any clues to the future direction of monetary policy.
Meanwhile, Germany, France and the wider euro zone are all to produce preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector growth. The euro zone is also to release official data on consumer confidence.
Friday, October 22
The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, Thomas Hoenig is to speak at a public engagement.
In the euro zone, the Ifo Institute for Economic Research is to release data on German business climate, while Italy is to produce official data on retail sales.
EUR/USD hit 1.4157 on Friday, the pair’s highest since January 26; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3975 by close of trade on Friday, gaining 0.13% over the week.
The pair is likely to find support at 1.3774, the low of October 12 and resistance at 1.4294, the high of January 20.
The euro’s gains came after the minutes of the September 21 meeting of the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee showed that "many participants" believed "it would be appropriate to provide additional monetary policy accommodation" if unemployment remained too high or inflation too low.
But the euro pared gains after Bernanke said on Friday that there was a case for further monetary easing but said officials "will take account of the potential costs and risks" of further easing. He also said that any action would be "contingent on incoming information about the economic outlook and financial conditions."
Next week will see the U.S. release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, as well as important data on building permits, housing starts, manufacturing activity and foreign investment while the Federal Reserve is to publish its Beige Book.
Meanwhile, the euro zone is to produce key data on German economic sentiment and business climate. Germany is also to produce important data on inflation.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect EUR/USD.
Monday, October 18
The U.S. will being the week by publishing official data on the difference in value between foreign long-term securities purchased by U.S. citizens and U.S. long-term securities purchased by foreigners. The country is also to release official data on the capacity utilization rate as well as data on industrial production, a leading indicator of economic health.
Tuesday, October 19
The U.S. is to publish official data on building permits and housing starts, both leading indicators of health in the housing sector.
The euro zone is to publish data on the regions current account while the ZEW Centre for Economic Research is to publish key data on German economic sentiment as well as data on economic center in the wider euro zone.
Wednesday, October 20
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is to release its Beige Book, a summary of the data the bank examines before setting the benchmark interest rate. The U.S. is also set to produce data on crude oil inventories.
In the euro zone, Germany is to publish data on its producer price index, a leading indicator of consumer inflation.
Thursday, October 21
The U.S. is to release key weekly data on initial jobless claims, while the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is due to release a report on the city’s manufacturing sector. The country is also due to publish an index of leading economic indicators, designed to predict the future direction of the economy.
Also Thursday, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, James Bullard is to speak at a public engagement. His comments will be closely watched for any clues to the future direction of monetary policy.
Meanwhile, Germany, France and the wider euro zone are all to produce preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector growth. The euro zone is also to release official data on consumer confidence.
Friday, October 22
The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas, Thomas Hoenig is to speak at a public engagement.
In the euro zone, the Ifo Institute for Economic Research is to release data on German business climate, while Italy is to produce official data on retail sales.