morning update

US housing starts and building permit data for December were mixed due to weather effects. US December housing starts -4.3% to 529k vs consensus 550k. Building permits +16.7% to 635k vs consensus 554k. Bad weather likely affected starts, but of course did not weigh on permits.

Sources quoted that the recent strength in the JPY is brought about from renew inflows to the Japanese equities. This could be explained by a potential stronger appetite for Japanese exports from its 2 biggest trading partners, US and China due to the stronger economic growth and Chinese Yuan respectively.

EURUSD retreated after reports of German government advisor was quoted as saying Greece may not be able to repay its foreign debts

i'm still waiting on the sideline at the moment waiting for a change or retracement in trend direction. Market's seem to be trending.

Data today

China Dec CPI

China Q4 GDP

China Dec Retail Sales

German PPI – 7am GMT

Eurozone consumer confidence – 3pm GMT

US Initial Jobless Claims – 1.30pm GMT

US Dec Existing Home Sales – 3pm GMT

US Leading indicators – 3pm GMT

US Philadelphia Fed index – 3pm GMT