25.08.14

Good morning,

A quiet start to the week expected as no Asian data of note due for publication this session. Dollar strength has seen USDJPY break the 104 figure, for the first time since January, to currently trade for 104.17 We will have to wait till the end of the week to see the Japanese Consumer Price Index and Unemployment data releases.

The NIKKEI was trading at 15613.25 up 74.06 points, an increase of 0.48%

Today is a British holiday, and UK markets remain closed. German IFO data is out this session, with the Euro already having lost ground following ECB President Draghi's comments at the Jackson Hole Symposium. A relatively quiet week ahead regards data, until the German Unemployment data release on Thursday.

The FTSE100 was trading at 6775.25 while the DAX was trading at 9450.92 at time of writing.

US markets have digested the Jackson Hole Symposium the main talking points hinting towards an interest rate hike following Atlanta FED President Dennis Lockhart forecasting a mid-2015 rate increase, following cessation of bond buying sometime later this year. Today’s data in the US will include the Markit Purchasing Manager’s Index result, and tomorrow we look ahead to Durable Goods Orders for July, and the Consumer Confidence results for August. EURUSD was trading at 1.3191 at time of writing, a level not seen since September 2013.

The DOW closed last week at 17001.22, and it will be interesting to see how investors react following the USD gains since currency markets reopened.

Hope you all have a good week ahead.