Market Participants May Be on Alert for Price Fluctuations Following the Release of PMI Preliminary Readings from Various Countries

Market Participants May Be on Alert for Price Fluctuations Following the Release of PMI Preliminary Readings from Various Countries

21.02.2023

In the previous day’s U.S. currency trading, although the Dollar Index rose to 104, the U.S. dollar weakened against the yen, causing the USD/JPY pair to decline. The USD/JPY pair fell slightly by about 60 pips, from 134.537 to 133.912. The decline halted as the 20-period moving average on the 4-hour chart provided support.During today’s Asian trading session, USD/JPY is once again moving higher, 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.The EUR/JPY pair fell from 143.657 to 143.033. It is currently hovering just below the 20-period moving average (MA) on the 4-hour chart, struggling to establish a clear direction. Since the pair has already briefly dipped below the 20-period MA on the 4-hour chart, traders should remain cautious of further declines during European trading hours.

Today, at 17:15, the French Manufacturing/Services PMI; at 17:30, the German Manufacturing/Services PMI; at 18:00, the Eurozone Manufacturing/Services PMI; and at 18:30, the UKManufacturing/Services PMI, at 19:00 the German ZEW Economic Sentiment Survey, at 20:00 the UK CBI Business Survey, at 22:30 Canadian Retail Sales,Canada’s Consumer Price Index, U.S. Manufacturing/Services PMI at 23:45, U.S. Existing Home Sales at 24:00, and a U.S. 2-Year Treasury auction at 27:00. 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.