Forex Today: AUD hit by poor eco data, Sentix, Draghi eyed

We had an eventful Asian session, with the crucial Australian retail sales and Chinese services PMI releases, both of which disappointed markets and triggered fresh sell-off in AUD/USD. Meanwhile, the US dollar traded largely subdued against most of its majors in the Asian hours, despite sharp losses in the US treasury yields in wake of Friday’s unimpressive US NFP data.

We have a data-light calendar to kick-off a brand new week, with the Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence and retail PMI data expected to fill in the EUR calendar, while ECB President Draghi’s speech will also grab a lot of attention ahead of the US Labour Market Conditions Index (LMCI).

Main topics in Asia

Australia's Dec retail sales misses expectations

Australia's retail sales for the month of December came at -0.1% vs +0.3% expected and -1.9% last. The data is a negative input for the Aussie, last trading at 0.7660.

PBOC: Banking system liquidity at a relatively high level

The Chinese central bank (PBOC) came out with a statement on Monday, citing that banking system remains at a relatively high level.

Asian stocks rally as Dollar slips

Stock markets Asia are trading higher this Monday morning with banking shares leading the way on heightened prospects of roll-back of Dodd Frank act under Trump administration.

China Caixin China Services PMI down to 53.1 from previous 53.4

Key focus for the day ahead

The Week Ahead – Danske Bank

Analysts at Danske Bank enlist key macro events from across the globe that could emerge the main market movers in the week ahead.