Latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending 17 September 2021
–  +0.3%
– Market index 742.7 vs 707.9 prior
– Purchase index 283.9 vs 277.9 prior
The jump in mortgage applications in the past week owes mostly to a surge in refinancing activity, though purchases also crept higher as well. That reaffirms sentiment that demand

It is all about the T-word
As outlined above, Powell’s presser may be the more important thing to watch for in today’s event as he will have some flexibility in clarifying the Fed’s views on tapering, that is if they do steer clear of any explicit commitment in the statement.

Forex news from the European trading session – 21 September 2021
Headlines:
Markets:
– CAD leads, USD lags on the day
– European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.7%

Dip buying greed takes over ahead of North American trading
The market continues to keep in a good mood in European trading and while there isn’t much of an extension in FX, US futures did creep higher during the session and are pointing to a solid bounce at the open later today.

OECD chief economist, Laurence Boone, remarks
If China really wants to, they could easily turn this situation around but it’s not exactly about that right now. The times are changing and Evergrande is but an example of that.

Latest data released by CBI – 21 September 2021
The output reading fell to its lowest since April, with CBI noting that:
„Today’s survey highlights how amidst a variety of supply challenges, companies are beginning to struggle to meet high demand. Despite close to half of manufacturers surveyed reporting order books above normal, output growth has slowed

Kyodo News reports on the matter
The measures are to expire at the end of September and given the virus trend, it is doubtful that the government would extend them beyond that date.

Will Trudeau survive?
The US economic calendar is light with only the NAHB home builder sentiment survey coming up at 10 am ET (1400 GMT). It’s expected to remain steady at 75.

Further remarks by Schnabel
Nothing we haven’t heard before but let’s see on the inflation path. The ECB anticipates that inflation in the region is to peak around November but amid supply bottlenecks and capacity constraints, high cost pressures will continue for many more months surely.

Forex news from the European trading session – 20 September 2021
Headlines:
Markets:
– JPY leads, CAD lags on the day
– European equities lower; S&P 500 futures down 1.6%