Given a quiet data calendar yesterday, there wasn’t much for markets to digest or take direction from. Both sides of the Atlantic had a relatively sparse diary.
The most notable release was Eurozone retail sales data for December. The headline number declined by 1.1% in the month, compared to forecasts of a 1.0% decline. The data, however, had no apparent impact on the markets.
The main currencies were trading in tight ranges yesterday. This pattern continued in overnight trading. In the slight action that has occurred over the last 24 hours, the pound has regained some ground against the dollar and is also higher against the euro.
Today’s macro data diary is once again weak in high-impact releases. As a result, the majors may trade in rather narrow ranges within and around their current levels.