Weekly Forex Market Followup (December 12th - December 16th 2011)

Key Fundamental Forex Events for the Week of December 12th
through December 16th The following table lists the key economic
data and other events that came out during the week of December
12th through December 16th, with release times displayed for the
GMT time zone. The list also indicates how much each release
deviated from the market consensus forecast upon release, as well
as what the affected major currency pair or pairs did after each
event or set of events. Monday, December 12th 12:30am AUD Home
Loans 0.7% versus 0.1% expected. 12:30am AUD Trade Balance 1.60B
versus 2.03B expected. The AUD fell. 1:00pm GBP BOE Governor King
said in a speech to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy
Research that, "central to any solution is a problem that has not
been resolved since the Bretton Woods conference of 1944. Namely,
the asymmetric pressure on, and responsibility of deficit and
surplus countries to adjust their spending patterns." The GBP fell.
Tuesday, December 13th 9:30am GBP CPI 4.8%, as expected. The GBP
fell. 10:00am EUR German ZEW Economic Sentiment -53.8 versus -55.7
expected. The EUR fell. 1:30pm USD Core Retail Sales 0.2% versus
0.5% expected. 1:30pm USD Retail Sales 0.2% versus 0.6% expected.
7:15pm USD FOMC Statement noted that, "Strains in global financial
markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic
outlook. The Committee also anticipates that inflation will settle,
over coming quarters, at levels at or below those consistent with
the Committees dual mandate." The USD rose overall. Wednesday,
December 14th 9:30am GBP Claimant Count Change 3.0K versus 17.30-K
expected. The GBP fell slightly. Thursday, December 15th 2:30am CNY
HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI 49.0 versus 47.7 expected. 8:30am CHF
Libor Rate 0.25%, as expected. 8:30am CHF SNB Monetary Policy
Assessment noted that, "The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will continue
to enforce the minimum exchange rate of CHF 1.20 per euro with the
utmost determination. It is prepared to buy foreign currency in
unlimited quantities." 8:30am CHF SNB Press Conference. Philipp
Hildebrand, SNB Chairman, stated that, We expect no continuous
decline in price levels The floor has quite clearly reduced the
threat of deflationary developments. The CHF rose. 9:30am GBP
Retail Sales -0.4% versus -0.2% expected. The GBP rose. 1:30pm USD
PPI 0.3% versus 0.3% expected. 1:30pm USD Weekly Initial Jobless
Claims 366K versus 389K expected.. 2:00pm USD TIC Long-Term
Purchases 4.8B versus 53.4B expected. 3:00pm USD Philly Fed
Manufacturing Index 10.3 versus 5.1 expected. The USD fell overall.
Friday, December 16th 1:30pm USD Core CPI 0.2%, as expected. The
USD fell overall. Technical Recap for the Majors This Week EURUSD:
Forecast: Mildly HigherActual: Lower from a 1.3380 open to a 1.2945
close. USDJPY: Forecast: Mildly LowerActual: Virtually unchanged
from a 77.60 open to a 77.62 close. GBPUSD: Forecast: Mildly
HigherActual: Lower from a 1.5639 open to a 1.5519 close. AUDUSD:
Forecast: LowerActual: Mildly lower from a 1.0194 open to a 0.9988
close. USDCAD: Forecast: LowerActual: Higher from a 1.0200 open to
a 1.0366 close. NZDUSD: Forecast: HigherActual: Mildly lower from a
0.7735 open to a 0.7635 close.