All eyes on Friday GDP numbers

A bit of “calm before the storm” has entered the markets this morning with the chaos of the last fortnight seemingly forgotten about. The week starts with a very data light day and with no comments due from any of the financial leaders across the globe, we look set to stay within tight ranges for todays trading.

It will be an interesting weeks trading for many of the major currencies. The Swiss National Bank has been active in the markets trying to weaken the Franc further. Meanwhile, the US Dollar which has taken a battering over the last fortnight faces another tough week with traders still speculating about how the huge debt pile the US Government has built up will affect growth.

The rest of the week is packed full of releases that are likely to set the trend for the next month. Tuesday brings a raft of Euro data showing how the manufacturing and services sectors are performing while home sales in the US could be yet another weak number for the housing market. Wednesday contains data from Germany about sentiment in the strongest Eurozone country though durable goods numbers from the States are likely to dampen anything positive with a negative figure due for new orders. Thursday includes jobs statistics from the US while we will conclude the week with Fridays GDP data from both the UK and America and FED chief Ben Bernanke will be speaking. This will be the key indicator for growth prospects with 0.2% and 1.1% expected respectively. The markets will be looking for numbers that at the very least match expectations otherwise we could be set for more volatility.