Economic calendar: Noteworthy data prints from the US

Summary:

• UK construction PMI expected to head lower

• US manufacturing ISM forecasted to deteriorate

• Oil trades flat awaiting API oil inventory change estimates

The US and the Asian sessions were abundant in some wild price swings across the FX market. While it is unlikely that any of the data readings scheduled some of them definitely have a potential to move markets. The UK construction PMI print will launch the day while a range of data from the US will be released in the afternoon.

9:30 am GMT - UK, Construction PMI for December. The UK manufacturing PMI reading for December that was released yesterday surprised investors with an unexpected jump higher. Nevertheless, this mood-booster was short-lived and after initial move high the British pound continued to underperform. GBPUSD is trying to move higher today after flirting with the 1.2400 handle for a while yesterday. Solid construction PMI reading could support recovery therefore GBP traders should watch data release carefully. Market consensus expects a decline from 53.4 pts to 52.9 pts.

1:15 pm GMT - US, ADP employment change for December. The ADP employment data will provide a final update on the state of the US labour market ahead of tomorrow’s NFP release. The latest reading was disappointing as it show only 179k increase in the number of employed people (below average for 2018). Economists surveyed by Bloomberg agency suggest that in December the US economy added just 180k jobs. While this is still a solid reading, it is hard to omit worsening of data from jobs market.

3:00 pm GMT - US, ISM Manufacturing for December. The US manufacturing PMI slumped in December rising concerns that the world’s biggest economy may also feel the pain of worsening trade conditions. However, when it comes to the United States ISMs are more widely followed gauges. Having said that, one may expect elevated volatility on the USD market in the afternoon. Markets expect a drop from 59.3 pts to 57.9 pts.

9:40 pm GMT - API weekly crude oil inventories. While everyone expected oil prices to rebound after December’s OPEC meeting, crude still stays reluctant to push higher. However, there is a scope for recovery as OPEC+ is expected to announce this month how it plans to implement agreed production cuts. Nevertheless, oil may continue to underperform until the release as the moods on the markets are sour to say the least. Market consensus points to a 2.3 mb drop.

GBPUSD took a dive yesterday as the British pound is still being pressured by Brexit uncertainties. The pair tries to recover today and in case the upward move is continue the resistance zone ranging 1.2660-1.2700 may be the first major hurdle for the bulls. Source: xStation5