Hi Folks.

Here is this week's very short Forecast.

SUNDAY: Zip. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.  On to Monday.

MONDAY:  Asian/London Session: Great Britain leads off with three numbers out at 2:00 a.m.: Current Account, Final GDP q/q, and Revised Business Investment q/q. If these don't sound very exciting it's because they aren't, and you can pretty safely bet the market in general will snooze right through all three number releases.  Pass. At 8:30 a.m. Canada releases a pair of Producer Price Index numbers (Industrial Product and Raw Materials). This one rarely shines, and while the last 3 numbers were 14, 5 and 31, that 31 dropped at the same time as the last NFP number, and you can bet that was what drove the USDCAD down 30 pips in 30 minutes. So pass here as well. The last entry for the night is the Monetary Policy Report (not a number) from Australia at 7:30 p.m., so nothing we can do with this.

          USA Session: Zip. Nada. Zilch. Nothing (Part II). Not as good as The Godfather Part II but at least we don't need to get out of bed early.

TUESDAY:  Asian/London Session: We open trading this December 23rd with the Bank of Japan's Core CPI y/y number.  The last three months have seen 8, 18 and 25 pips, so things are moving in the right direction. But I hesitate to put this in the Maybe column, mostly because it's December 23rd and volume and volatility are expected to be lower than usual given the proximity of the approaching holiday break. Anyone who is anyone in the big trading houses is gone already, leaving junior staff to man the fort. So keep one eye on this one, but don't expect a lot.  Switzerland follows at 4:00 a.m. with their UBS Economic Expectations number, and in the best of conditions this one rarely moves price by any noticeable amount, so Pass for today.  Canada releases their GDP m/m number at 8:30 a.m., and this one posted 13, 16 and 18 pips over the last 3 months. Under my 20 pip Red Line but certainly moving in the right direction. A very hesitant Maybe, only because we are fast running out of things to trade this week, and frankly, probably shouldn't be trading at all today. But here we are, and this CAD number might be the best of a bad lot for the A/L session. At 1:30 p.m. Canada releases their written Summary of Deliberations over the last Interest Rate decision.  A report, not a number, so Pass. Finally, at 6:50 p.m. Japan gifts us with their own Interest Rate deliberations report (pass) and their Service Producer Price Index.  6's across the board for pip counts the last 3 months makes this one an easy Pass.

          USA Session: 8:30 brings us Antiques Roadshow, as all the numbers are from releases that should have happened weeks ago. But we saw last week that the dated nature of the numbers did not slow traders down when the very late NFP and even later CPI numbers dropped on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. So be ready for today's Preliminary GDP and Durable Goods Orders numbers, along with some ride-alongs that are just as outdated (Cap Utilization and Industrial Production...these two also listed at 9:15 a.m.) Nobody trades the last two so don't worry about the 9:15 release.  At 10:00 we get a pair of Beige Folder numbers, Conference Board Consumer Confidence and Richmond Manufacturing Index. Neither of these ever inspire any trades, and given the hour and the date of release, I have no reason to think today will be any different. Pass.  At 4:30 we get that API Oil Bulletin (report, not number) so Pass.

WEDNESDAY:  Asian/London Session: Europe is closed for the holidays but Japan has a Tentative speech by Ueda.  Guys, it's Christmas Eve. Shut down your platforms and go drink some eggnog or something.

          USA Session: 8:30 Weekly Unemployment number. 10:30 Crude Oil.  12:00 Nat Gas. Guys, it's still Christmas Eve. Shut 'er down and go see if there is any of that eggnog left.

THURSDAY:  Asian/London Session: God Bless Japan. I thought I could just write It's Christmas and the whole world is closed, but we have Housing starts y/y at midnight and Tokyo Core CPI and Unemployment Rate at 6:30 p.m. followed by Preliminary Industrial Production m/m and Retail Sales y/y at 6:50. None of these ever generate much on normal days. I doubt Christmas Day trading will be any better.  Pass.

          USA Session: Zip. Nada, etc., etc., etc.  It's Christmas Day.

FRIDAY:  Asian/London Session: Boxing day. Everybody is still shut down.

          USA Session: Amazingly enough, the US is shut down as well (or at least there are no numbers on Calendar).

So to all who celebrate, a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all, and I'll see you back here next week with the final Forecast of 2025.

Jeff