INVESTORS LOOK TO CENTRAL BANK MINUTES IN A SHORTENED TRADING WEEK

MEETING MINUTES

Financial markets look to the release of the Meeting Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee and the Reserve Bank of Australia's last policy decisions. The FOMC Meeting Minutes will be crucial to investors, as they gauge the tone of U.S policymakers before the central banks next policy decision in December.

Traders should also expect reduced volumes and volatility in the foreign exchange, bond and stock markets between Thursday and Friday, as the United States and Japanese economies observe Thanksgiving holiday.

Monday, November 20th, German PPI

The German economy releases key Producer Price Index inflation figures for the month of October, which measures the change in the price of goods sold by manufacturers.

Economists are expecting the monthly German PPI figures to increase by just 0.1 percent month-on-month, which is a marginally down from the 0.3 percent increase seen during the previous month.

Tuesday, November 21st, RBA Meeting Minutes

The Reserve Bank of Australia Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes are a detailed record of the bank's most recent policy-setting meeting, containing in-depth insights into the economic conditions that influenced the rate decision.

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe is also set to speak after the Minutes are released. Governor Lowe has considerable influence over the value of the Australian dollar, traders scrutinize his public engagements for clues regarding future monetary policy.

• The AUDUSD pair is likely to remain strongly bearish while trading below the 0.7610 level. Further selling towards the 0.7510 and 0.7460 levels remains likely.

• A move above the 0.7610 area should relieve selling pressure, prompting further buying towards the 0.7650 and 0.7715 levels.

Wednesday, November 22nd, FOMC Meeting Minutes

The Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes are a detailed record of the committee's policy-setting meeting held about two weeks earlier.

This month's release takes on extra significance, as the FED are widely expected to increase the U.S interest rate at their next policy meeting in December.

Thursday, November 23rd, South African Rate Decision

South African policymakers come together on Thursday to decide on the interest rate, at which the private sector banks borrow South African rands from the SA Reserve Bank. The current rate of interest sits at 6.75 percent in the South African economy.

An interest rate hike should be taken as positive for the ZAR currency, while a decrease in the countries interest rate should be taken as negative for the ZAR currency.

Friday, November 24th, German IFO Survey

The German IFO survey is comprised of three key components, German Business Expectations, German Current Assessment and the German Business Current Climate Index.

Following continued strong growth in the German manufacturing sector during the third fiscal quarter, all three components of the IFO survey are expected to remain close to record highs.

• The EURUSD pair remains bullish while trading above the 1.1760 level. Further upside towards 1.1910 and 1.1980 appears likely.

• A move below the 1.1760 technical level should support further euro selling towards the 1.1690 and 1.1655 levels.