Week Ahead: January 3-7 2022
Current Week
The final week of the year was rather uneventful, as it lacked market moving news and many stock markets were closed or operated partially, after Christmas and before the New Year.
Thursday's US Initial Jobless Claims stood out, coming in at just 198,000 for the week ending December 25, with the 4-week moving average at 199,250 – the lowest reading since 1969.
US30 and SPX500 posted record highs and were heading towards a profitable week, despite deflating after the first solid half.
The USOIL was having another good week and is on track to close the month on a high note, after November's plunge, while XAU/USD was trying to register its third straight profitable week.
On the FX space, main Commodity Currencies (AUD, NZD, CAD) were heading towards a positive week against the US Dollar, but the greenback shined against the Japanese Yen.
Upcoming Week
The first week of 2022 will start with some stock markets out on holiday, but the economic calendar offers a flurry of releases.
The head-turner is Friday's US Employment report, which is forecasted to show the addition of 400K jobs in December, following last month's disappointing creation of 210K jobs.
On the same day, we expect employment figures from Canada as well, while Eurozone releases preliminary Consumer Price Index.
On Thursday, US Factory Orders stand out and we also expect a series of PMI's earlier in the week.
On December 15, the US Federal Reserve had announced a faster tapering of its Quantitative Easing program (QE) and on Wednesday we expect the minutes of that meeting, for potentially more insight in the officials' thinking.
Markets will also be looking forward to the 24th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting of January 4th, to see if the group (referred to as OPEC+) will maintain its production output plans by adding 0.4 mb/d or it will make changes.
See the economic calendar here.
Nikos Tzabouras
Senior Financial Editorial Writer
Nikos Tzabouras is a graduate of the Department of International & European Economic Studies at the Athens University of Economics and Business. With extensive experience in market analysis and a strong foundation in international relations, he brings a unique perspective to financial markets. Nikos emphasizes not only technical analysis but also on fundamentals and the growing influence of geopolitics on financial trends.
As a Senior Financial Editorial Writer, he delivers comprehensive and forward-looking insights across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, commodities, and currencies. His work explores how macroeconomic events, political developments, and global policies impact market dynamics, providing readers with a deeper understanding of both short-term movements and long-term trends.
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