Spending and GDP

During the upcoming trading week, traders and investors look to the release of US Retail Sales data and Chinese Gross Domestic Product numbers for direction. US retail spending is likely to have taken a sharp hit as a result of the coronavirus and consumers staying at home. Chinese GDP is also being released this week, with most economists predicting that Chinese economic growth will have been hurt during the last fiscal quarter.

The Australian economy releases its monthly jobs report this week, while the New Zealand economy releases important Electronic card spending data. The EU economy is also in focus as it releases PMI manufacturing data and CPI inflation data from the Germany and eurozone economies.

Monday 13th April, NZD Electronic Card Retail Sales

Electronic Card Retail Sales is released by Statistics New Zealand and represents a monthly series that covers all debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. This information can be used as an indicator of the change in the level of consumption expenditure and economic activity in general. It can also have an impact on the value of the New Zealand dollar.

• The EURGBP pair is only bullish while trading above the 0.8850 level, key resistance is found at the 0.8900 and 0.8940 levels.
• If the EURGBP pair moves below the 0.8850 level, sellers may test towards the 0.8710  and 0.8650 levels.

Tuesday 14th April, RBA Meeting Minutes

Chinese Exports of goods and services are released by the National Bureau Statistics of China represents the value of all goods and other market services. This includes sales, barter, gifts or grants provided to the rest of the world. Weakening Chinese exports usually shows that global consumer demand is falling.

• The AUDUSD pair is only bearish while trading below the 0.6080 level, key technical support is found at the 0.5850 and 0.5650 levels.
• If the AUDUSD pair trades above the 0.6080 level, buyers will likely test towards the 0.6600 and 0.6720 levels.

Wednesday 15th April, US Retail Sales

US Retail Sales measures the total receipts of retail stores and is provided by the US Census Bureau and appears as the annualized percentage change from the previous month. It can be seen as an important indicator because suggests the sentiment of consumer spending. Consumer spending is tightly linked with the general health of the economy, and this month’s figure is likely to closely watch due to the effects of the coronavirus on the US economy.

• The GBPUSD pair is only bearish while trading above the 1.2380 level, further losses towards the 1.2300 and 1.2200 levels remain likely.
• If the GBPUSD pair trades above the 1.2380 level, buyers may test towards the 1.2620 and 1.2800 resistance levels.

Thursday 16th April, Australian Jobs Report

The Employment Change is released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and measures the change in the number of employed people in Australia. Generally speaking, a rise in this indicator has positive implications for consumer spending which stimulates economic growth. Therefore, a high reading is seen as positive for the Australian dollar, while a low reading is seen as negative for the Australian dollar.

• The AUDNZD pair is only bearish while trading below the 1.0500 level, key support is found at the 1.0350 and 1.0200 levels.
• If the AUDNZD pair moves above the 1.0500 level, buyers will likely test towards the 1.0770 and 1.0830 resistance levels.

Friday 17th April, Chinese GDP

Chinese Gross Domestic Product is released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China and measures the national income and output for a given country’s economy. GDP is equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country in a stipulated period of time. It is also considered a strong indicator of the health of the entire global economy.

• The USDJPY pair is only bearish while trading below the 108.90 level, key support is found at the 107.45 and 106.95 levels.
• If the USDJPY pair trades above the 109.90 level, buyers may test towards the 110.50 and 111.00 resistance levels.