SNB in focus today
The dollar is starting to take a gander at breaching some key technical levels, with EUR/USD slipping under 1.1700 and gold continuing to track towards its 100-day moving average on a break under $1,900 and its 12 August low from yesterday.
Equities experienced quite a beat down as the tech selloff resumed yesterday, as the jitters from the start of the week are resurfacing.
The fact that nothing is going to come from Washington to help the economy isn't exactly a pretty sight, especially when Fed chair Powell makes such a statement here.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on risk and the dollar once more with the technical plays continuing to favour the greenback in trading this week.
Let's see if dollar bulls have more conviction to keep with the current push or if sellers can offer some push back ahead of the weekend.
I'd argue that this still looks more like a corrective phase for the dollar, as crowded short positions get squeezed. However, should we see a further meltdown in equities, then the case for a liquidity crunch becomes more appealing.
Not to mention that the Fed has basically thrown the kitchen sink already, and there are still more plausible options for other major central banks to ease further i.e. ECB, BOE, RBA, RBNZ in particular - so that is something that needs to be priced in as well.
0645 GMT - France September business confidence
Prior release can be found here. An indication of economic sentiment in the French economy, which has been gradually improving over the last few months. A minor data point.
0730 GMT - SNB announces its latest monetary policy decision
Prior decision can be found here. This should be a rather non-event with the SNB expected to leave policy unchanged and maintain their language on the franc i.e. 'remains highly valued'. They're still intervening in the market so they will surely stick with the status quo unless things in the market change in the coming months.
0800 GMT - Germany September Ifo business climate index
Prior release can be found here. German business morale is expected to pick up further this month as economic conditions continue to improve, but it remains to be seen if such optimism can hold up going into the latter stages of the year given that the pace of the recovery is starting to stall and virus developments may get worse.
1000 GMT - UK September CBI retailing, total distributive reported sales
The readings here are an indicator of short-term trends in the retail and wholesale sector of the UK economy. A minor data point.
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading! Stay safe out there.