Quiet end to the week

It’s looking very likely that we will end the week pretty much
as we started it with all of the major currencies locked in tight
trading ranges. Positive initial jobless claims data was the
highlight of yesterday’s North American session, but it did little
to the price of the Dollar after it became clear that one state
accounted for the majority of the drop. Which state that is, we
will find out next week. Today’s big ticket data is US PPI and the
University of Michigan confidence survey, with the PPI data
expected to show very stable YoY figures of 2.5% and also no change
from last month’s confidence figure which is expected to read
around 78.

This week saw the deadline for applications to replace Mervyn
King as Governor of the Bank of England. According to the
bookmakers, it looks to be a straight fight between current deputy
governor Paul Tucker and the head of the FSA Adair Turner. As the
race hots up, Mr Turner used a speech at Mansion House to outline
his plan should the UK economy remain in the economic doldrums. It
was designed to show Mr Turners willingness to take bold policy
actions to promote growth. The inability or unwillingness to do so
has been one of the main criticisms of the Bank of England since
the onset of the financial crisis.

Next week is also light on data. In the UK the Bank of England
minutes are released on Wednesday, German Economic sentiment and US
advanced retail sales.