Last night Chinese data was very strong as retail sales, industrial production and investments all rose above consensus. Also last night, FED member Brainard played down the possibility of imminent rate hikes as her comments suggested that the Fed is not ready to hike in next week’s meeting. Her comments sparked volatility in a generally subdued session up until that time. 

Currencies: There is still lack of direction In the markets as there hasn’t been any market moving data to give rise to speculation as to a rate hike on September 21st. Nevertheless, Thursday will feature the US Retail Sales report that is an important indicator of the health of the US economy, so volatility might be just around the corner. EUR/USD consolidated between 1.1225 and 1.1240, while GBP/USD traded 1.3315-40. USD/JPY was slightly more volatile, as it fell from 102.00 to 101.40 in the early part of the Asian session, but managed to bounce from there and rallied back to 102.

Stocks: Asian stock markets rose after better than expected economic data out of China. Retail sales and industrial production both increased more than analysts had anticipated. DJIA closed up 239.62 pts, or 1.32%, at 18325.07. S&P 500 closed up 31.23 pts, or 1.47%, at 2159.04. Stocks rose after comments broke out that the FED might not raise rates next week.

Oil and Gold: Gold rose $10 on Monday jumping to $1330 from $1320 after the USD weakened following FED’s Brainard’s comments. Oil on the other hand. Oil on the other hand fell 0.82% to $45.91 a barrel after OPEC revised up its output forecast from non-member countries for 2017.

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