By FXEmpire.com - Analysis and Recommendation: (close of Asian session)

AUD/USD climbed to 1.0809 up from 1.0767, the Aussie could trade higher, dependent on a long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) by the European Central Bank, scheduled for Wednesday (European time).

Investors feeling comfortable with the moves in euro are moving out of the USD and into more risky currencies, along with the drop in oil prices.

Also today a release of official data showing a 0.3 per cent rise in retail trade in January, in line with forecasts, also construction data for the December quarter, which showed a 4.6 per cent fall, a weaker result than the forecast 0.6 per cent drop.

Investors are awaiting the ECB’s offer of cheap cash, seen at around half a trillion euro, to that region’s lenders. The ECB’s second tranche of lending may stimulate Europe’s economy, lifting prospects for global growth and growth-linked assets such as the Aussie.

Economic Events: (GMT)

00:30     AUD      Building Approvals (MoM)      2.1%      -1.0%

Building Approvals (also known as Building Permits) measures the change in the number of new building approvals issued by the government. Building permits are key indicator of demand in the housing market.

00:30     AUD      Private New Capital Expenditure (QoQ)      3.9%      12.3%

Private New Capital Expenditure measures the change in the total inflation-adjusted value of new capital expenditures made by private businesses. It is a leading indicator of economic health.

13:30     USD      Core PCE Price Index (MoM)     0.2%     0.2%

The Core Personal Consumption spending (PCE) Price Index measures the changes in the price of goods and services purchased by consumers for the purpose of consumption, excluding food and energy. Prices are weighted according to total expenditure per item. It measures price change from the perspective of the consumer. It is a key way to measure changes in purchasing trends and inflation.

13:30     USD     Personal Spending (MoM)     0.4%     0.0%

Personal Spending measures the change in the inflation-adjusted value of all spending by consumers. Consumer spending accounts for a majority of overall economic activity. However, this report tends to have a mild impact, as government data on retail sales is released about two weeks earlier.

13:30     USD     Initial Jobless Claims              353K         351K

13:30    USD     Continuing Jobless Claims     3400K      3392K

Initial Jobless Claims measures the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time during the past week. This is the earliest U.S. economic data, but the market impact varies from week to week. Continuing Jobless Claims measures the number of unemployed individuals who qualify for benefits under unemployment insurance.

15:00     USD      ISM Manufacturing Index      54.6      54.1

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rates the relative level of business conditions including employment, production, new orders, prices, supplier deliveries, and inventories.

The data is compiled from a survey of approximately 400 purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry.

On the index, a level above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, below indicates contraction.

15:00     USD      Fed Chairman Bernanke Testifies

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (February 2006 – January 2014) is to testify on the economic outlook and recent monetary policy actions before the Joint Economic Committee, in Washington DC. The testimony is in two parts; the first is a prepared statement, then the committee conducts a question and answer session. The Q&A portion of the testimony can see heavy market volatility for the duration.

23:30     JPY     Unemployment Rate     4.5%     4.6%

The Unemployment Rate measures the percentage of the total work force that is unemployed and actively seeking employment during the previous month. The data tends to have a muted impact relative to employment data from other countries because the Japanese economy is more reliant on the industrial sector than personal spending.

23:30     JPY     Tokyo Core CPI (YoY)     -0.4%     -0.4%

The Tokyo Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in the price of goods and services purchased by consumers in Tokyo, excluding fresh food.

Sovereign Bond Auction Schedule

Mar 01 09:30 Spain Bono auction

Mar 01 09:50 France OAT auction

Mar 01 10.30 UK Auctions 4.0% 2022 conventional Gilt

[Originally Posted Here]

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