Market participants may be on the lookout for price fluctuations following the release of preliminary PMI data from various countries

Market participants may be on the lookout for price fluctuations following the release of preliminary PMI figures from various countries

21.02.2023

In yesterday’s U.S. currency trading, although the Dollar Index rose to 104, the dollar weakened against the yen, causing the USD/JPY pair to decline. The USD/JPY fell slightly by about 60 pips, from 134.537 to 133.912. The decline halted as the pair found support at the 20-period moving average on the 4-hour chart.In today’s Asian session, USD/JPY is once again trending upward, so we will be watching to see if today’s economic data releases will cause the U.S. dollar to strengthen.

European currencies faced resistance as the euro struggled to gain ground after the February Eurozone Consumer Confidence Index, released yesterday, came in at -19.0—worse than the market forecast of -18.9.EUR/JPY fell from 143.657 to 143.033. It is currently hovering just below the 4-hour 20-MA, struggling to establish a clear direction. Since EUR/JPY has already briefly dipped below the 4-hour 20-MA at one point, caution is warranted regarding further declines during European trading hours.

Today’s schedule includes the French Manufacturing/Services PMI at 5:15 PM, the German Manufacturing/Services PMI at 5:30 PM, the Eurozone Manufacturing/Services PMI at 6:00 PM, the UK Manufacturing/Services PMI at 6:30 PM, the German ZEW Economic Sentiment Survey at 7:00 PM, and the UKCBI Business Survey at 5:30 PM, Canadian Retail Sales and Consumer Price Index at 10:30 PM, U.S. Manufacturing/Services PMI at 11:45 PM, U.S. Existing Home Sales at 12:00 AM, and a U.S. 2-Year Treasury Auction at 3:00 AM. While keeping an eye on price movements during U.S. trading hours following the long weekend, we should also pay close attention to the PMI releases.