A plethora of data due for the US dollar this week – will it strengthen?

There was not much movement on Friday for the US dollar, although Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index figures were slightly down compared to expectation, and the previous month.

We should be in for a busy week for the US dollar, with a basket full of data due throughout. Monday will see US Federal Reserve member Lockhart speak; expected to discuss last week’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes. Tuesday will see the release of Flash services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), consumer confidence and new home sales, all expected to show moderate growth. Durable goods orders are due for release on Wednesday, and these are expected to show slight growth, but be below the previous month’s release. The focus this week will be on the Preliminary Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figure, expected to show very strong growth – the highest for three months.

However, much of the focus will remain on China, following last week’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes where they stated that the events here were a concern to the US economy.