NEW FED CHAIR AND U.S JOBS HEADLINE A BUSY WEEK FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS

POWELL AND PAYROLLS

The new Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces the spotlight this week, as he testifies before both houses of U.S Congress. Investors and traders will be digesting his remarks carefully, as they await clues about future U.S rate increases and clarity on how his tenure as Fed Chair will differ from his predecessor Janet Yellen. Financial markets will also pay close attention to Friday's Non-Farm Payrolls job release, with the wage component of the report under scrutiny as rising inflation in the United States economy remains a contentious issue.

The United States economy also releases key Trade, Inflation, Spending, Housing and Manufacturing data for the month of February. We also see key fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product numbers from the Swiss, Brazilian, United States and Canadian economies alongside German, Eurozone and Japanese CPI numbers for the month of February.

Monday, February 26th, U.S New Home Sales

The number of New Home sales is released by the United States Census Bureau and is considered an important measure of current U.S housing market conditions. This month's reading will be closely watched, following a sharp decline recorded in new housing demand during the previous month. Generally speaking, a higher New Home Sales reading is seen as bullish for the U.S dollar, whereas a low reading is seen as U.S dollar bearish.

The U.S dollar index remains bullish while trading above the 90.00 level, further upside towards 91.20 and 91.90 appears possible.
If the U.S dollar index holds under the key 90.00 level for a sustained period, sellers may push price-action towards the 89.30 and 88.10 support levels.

Tuesday, February 27th, German CPI Inflation

Germany releases Preliminary CPI inflation figures for the month of February, with most economists expecting the nations Consumer Price Index to increase by 0.5 percent. The Consumer Price Index represents the main indicator of inflation and changes in purchasing trends inside the German economy. Preliminary German CPI inflation is comprised of data from six German states, who report their CPI inflation figures throughout the day.

The EURUSD pair remains bearish whilst trading below the 1.2292 level, further downside towards 1.2210 and 1.2095 seems possible.
If the EURUSD pair trades above the 1.2292 level, buyers may push price-action back towards the 1.2360 and 1.2440 resistance areas.

Wednesday, February 28th, China Manufacturing PMI

The Chinese Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing is an economic indicator that measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the Chinese manufacturing sector each month. This month's Manufacturing PMI is expected to improve from the previous months 51.3 reading, as global growth and consumption continue to support the Chinese manufacturing sector.

The AUDUSD pair remains bullish whilst trading above the 0.7785 level, further upside towards 0.7888 and 0.7970 seems possible.
If the AUDUSD pair falls beneath the 0.7785 level, sellers may push price-action toward the 0.7745 and 0.7715 support regions.

Thursday, March 1st, U.S Core Prices Index PCE

The U.S Federal Reserve utilizes a measure of inflation resulting from the Core Prices Index PCE as their primary gauge of domestic inflation. Persistently low personal spending may lead to decreasing output levels and an economic downturn, as income is either spent or saved. Economists watch the growth of Personal Spending in relation to income and saving in order to determine if consumers are living beyond their means, which would influence levels of borrowing and future consumption.

Friday, March 2nd, U.S Nonfarm Payrolls Job Report

The U.S Non-farm payrolls job report is considered the most inclusive calculation of job creation in the United States, excluding the U.S farming sector. This characteristic causes the NFP figure to become highly significant, due to the great importance of labor in the United States economy. The February Non-farm payrolls job report is expected to show 180,000 new jobs created in the U.S economy, which is slightly down on the 200,000 new jobs recorded during the month of January.