We expect US building permits and housing starts to surprise on the upside. The MBA purchase mortgage application index has increased substantially in the past two weeks and employment in the construction sector in December was a significant positive surprise.
In the UK we expect that ILO unemployment (three-month average) declined further in November in line with the fall in the claimant count level in November. The labour market continues to improve and even though the pace has slowed we expect that the unemployment rate declined to 5.9% in November from 6.0% in October. The average weekly earnings figures for November are also worth noting, as real wage growth turned positive in October for the first time since 2009.
Finally, the Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates unchanged. More interesting will be the monetary policy report including updated economic projections.
Read the full report: FX Daily