PMI surveys kickstart all-important central bank week

Here is what you need to know on Monday, July 24:

Financial markets stay relatively calm early Monday and major currency pairs trade near the previous week’s closing levels. S&P Global will release preliminary Manufacturing and Services PMI surveys for Germany, the Eurozone, the UK and the US later. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s National Activity Index will also be featured in the US economic docket ahead of this week’s critical central bank policy meetings.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) snapped a two-week losing streak and gained more than 1% last week, while the benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield recovered back above 3.8%. In the European morning, the DXY consolidates its gains near 101.00 and the 10-year yield hold steady at around 3.8%. Following the mixed action seen in Wall Street, US stock index futures trade virtually unchanged on the day in the early European session.

During the Asian trading hours, China state planner National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that they will “guide and strengthen financing support for private-invested projects.” The Shanghai Composite remains on track to end the day with small losses.

The data from Australia showed that the S&P Global Composite PMI declined to 48.3 in July from 50.1 in June, revealing a contraction in the private sector’s business activity. AUD/USD edged lower toward 0.6700 following this data before recovering modestly in the European morning.

Jibun Bank Manufacturing PMI in Japan declined to 49.4 in July and the Services PMI stood unchanged at 52.1. In the meantime, “the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is likely to revise inflation projections up,” said Japan’s top currency diplomat Masato Kanda ahead of Friday’s policy announcements. After having gained nearly 300 pips, USD/JPY moves up and down in a tight channel at around 141.50 on Monday.

EUR/USD held steady on Friday and ended the week slightly above 1.1100. The pair moves sideways below 1.1150 ahead of PMI releases. In Spain, the center-right Popular Party won the snap election but fell short of gaining a parliamentary majority. 

GBP/USD stays in a consolidation phase above 1.2850 on Monday after having closed every day of the previous week in negative territory.

Despite the downward correction seen in the second half of the previous week, Gold posted small weekly gains. XAU/USD trades in a very narrow range at around $1,960 in the European morning.

Bitcoin failed to end the week above $30,000 despite having climbed above that level on Sunday. BTC/USD was last seen losing nearly 1% on the day at around $29,800. Ethereum rose more than 1% on Sunday but already erased the majority of those gains, returning below $1,900 on Monday.