Crude oil bounced higher on Wednesday after data showed another drop in US crude inventories. A tropical storm heading for oil producing facilities in the Gulf of Mexico was cause for concern. Reports came in that "operators in the area are already closing down platforms and evacuating workers as a precaution." WTI trades just under 48.40USD/barrel at the start of European trading session on Thursday.
Stocks opened higher on Thursday with the DAX taking the lead and US equity futures following. USD/JPY traded back above 109 on Thursday.
UK data dominates the agenda on Thursday morning with the second GDP estimate to be released at 1030 CET. While q/q numbers are expected to show an expansion of 0.3 percent, the annualized figure is expected to contract compared to the previous reading. GDP/USD trades below 1.2800 at the time of writing. EUR/GBP is stable above 0.9200.
US weekly jobless claims and existing home sales are the main calendar events of the US session today, but forex traders will more likely be paying attention to any hints on the tone for the Jackson Hole summit at the end of the week. CNBC reported that the tone is “likely to be a carefully balanced one that accentuates the shift towards less accommodative monetary policy but stresses the importance of a durable rise in inflation as a condition for removing stimulus more aggressively”.
EUR/USD trades around the 1.1800 handle on Thursday, easing just below to 1.1786.
