Yellen, beige book, housing data in focus
Outgoing Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is slated to testify on the economic outlook before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday, which could provide market participants with an insight into the progress of the US economy.
Investors are expected to closely parse Yellen’s remarks after she warned that the trend of low inflation limits the potential of further rate hikes, diminishing the Federal Reserve’s ability to respond the subsequent crises.
The Federal Reserve’s beige book, a report that includes anecdotal evidence on the health of the US economy from 12 regions will offer additional clues on the path of U.S. interest rate hikes and the progress of the economy.
Economist expect Pending Home Sales rose 1.0% in October following a 2.6% decline in the previous month amid an uptick in housing activity.
The dollar traded higher against its rivals on Tuesday.
U.S. crude oil stockpiles to show second weekly decline?
A fresh batch of inventory data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday is expected to show a U.S. crude supplies continued to swell last week for the third week in a row.
Analysts forecast crude inventories fell by about 2.3 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 25.
Traders are also expected to watch crude production data closely after an EIA report revealed preliminary U.S. production figures rose to an all-time high last week.
U.S. crude oil production has risen by 15% to 9.66 million barrels per day (bpd) since mid-2016, not far from top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Crude oil futures settled at $57.99, down 12 cents.
Sterling in the spotlight
GBP/USD will be the one to watch as reports on Tuesday of a UK-EU agreement on the so-called Brexit divorce bill spurred a rally in sterling.
If a settlement on the Brexit divorce bill is agreed, it paves the way for UK-EU discussions on an interim trade deal, easing the risk of hard Brexit – the UK exiting the EU without a trade deal.
GBP/USD rose 0.29% to $1.3354.