Economic calendar (GMT0):
Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual
01:30 Australia National Australia Bank's Business Confidence July 8 Revised From 10 4
06:00 Japan Prelim Machine Tool Orders, y/y July 6.6% 1.6%
The euro advanced amid a weaker dollar. The greenback declined because investors were waiting for more obvious signs of a liftoff in rates in September. Jobs data published on Friday pointed to stable growth in employment, however slow progress in wages and consumer prices continued disappointing economists.
This week investors are waiting for euro zone GDP data. The report is likely to show that the economy continued modest recovery. Median forecast suggests a 0.4% growth rate in the second quarter (just like in the first quarter). Meanwhile analysts also say that growth has probably slowed in France and Italy, which would underline uneven recovery in the single currency area, where Germany leads compared to other economies.
The Australian dollar dropped against the U.S. dollar after data from the National Bank of Australia showed that the business confidence index fell to 4 in July from 10 reported previously. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were also affected by yuan's depreciation against the greenback. China's central bank said it took this step to ease pressure on the economy.
EUR/USD: the pair fell to $1.0970 in Asian trade
USD/JPY: the pair rose to Y124.90
GBP/USD: the pair declined to $1.5555
The most important news that are expected (GMT0):
(time / country / index / period / previous value / forecast)
09:00 Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment August 42.7
09:00 Germany ZEW Survey - Economic Sentiment August 29.7 32
12:15 Canada Housing Starts July 202.8 195
12:30 U.S. Nonfarm Productivity, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter II -3.1% 1.6%
12:30 U.S. Unit Labor Costs, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter II 6.7% 0.1%
14:00 U.S. Wholesale Inventories June 0.8% 0.4%
20:30 U.S. API Crude Oil Inventories August -2.4
23:50 Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes