US Jobless Claims, Fed Budget Balance, Wholesale Inflation Data
Wholesale inflation, the Fed budget balance and initial jobless claims form the top-tier economic data for Thursday, leading up to a crucial consumer inflation report due Friday.
Analysts expect inflation cooled at the wholesale level, measured by the producer price index, rising 0.2% in December.
The Labor department, meanwhile, releases its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended Jan 5. Economists forecast initial jobless claims to fell by 5000 to 245,000.
Following the release of the initial jobless claims, the Federal Reserve budget balance, which measures the difference in value between the federal government's income and expenditure, is expected show a $40 billion increase in December, compared to $139 billion in the previous month.
Ahead of the duo of reports the dollar, fell 0.22% against its rivals to 92.03.
China Trade Data
China releases trade data Thursday expected to show that the country’s trade surplus narrowed to $37 billion in December from a surplus of $40.21 billion in the previous month.
Economists forecast China’s exports rose 9.1% year-over-year in December compared to the same period a year ago, while imports fell 13% year-over-year in December.
China is one largest consumer of commodities such as gold, thus, traders are expected to monitor the trader closer for clues on the country’s economic health.
ECB December Meeting Minutes
The minutes of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting in December due Thursday is expected to provide investors with an insight into the European central bank’s thinking on monetary policy amid reports that the ECB is poised to taper its bond buying programme.
At its December meeting, the European Central Bank left rates unchanged, while ECB president Mario Draghi’s outlook on monetary policy tightening was said to be somewhat dovish as he stressed that an “ample degree” of stimulus was still needed.
EUR/USD rose 0.18% to $1.1957