As we enter the first trading day of September, the big news overnight was Australian GDP strongly beating expectations with a print of 9.6% Y/Y (Expectation: 9.2%). Given the turmoil particularly in Australia over lockdown measures this was a bit of a surprise release to the upside and the Australian Dollar responded well, once again testing resistance in the .7340 zone.
The London session is scattered with medium level releases in terms of signficance. German Retail sales came in at -0.3% Y/Y, showing a drop in growth when the market was expecting a rise of 3.7%. Y/Y Italy’s unemployment rate will be released at 9:00 am GMT with an expectation of 9.7%. Both the Euro and Pound could come under pressure versus the Greenback through the London session as both pairs have stalled at resistance to end the month of August.
During the US session we have ISM Manufacturing figures being released at 10:00 am EST with the forecast at 58.6. Any USD strength we see in the London session could gain acceleration as North American traders enter the fold during the US session.
