The week ahead has the potential to be one of the most explosive of the year as the world’s central banks get set to shake up markets.

There has been an air of fear around for the past few weeks and the level of uncertainty is still high. This week markets will turn to the biggest names in economics to help give them some insight into what lies ahead for the global economy.

On Friday, the annual Jackson Hole symposium gets underway with an explosive speech from Fed boss Jerome Powell likely to set the tone for the entire event. It is there we will get his outline for both US interest rates and his prediction for the economy.

Before we even reach that point on Friday, there are two more massive events on the radar. The FOMC will release the minutes of the last meeting where they cut US interest rates by 25bp. There is still some controversy around exactly what played out as it has been suggested many more members wanted larger cuts so watch this with interest.

We’ll also be focusing closely on the Eurozone this week with the ECB set to release the account of its own monetary policy battles at their last meeting. Draghi has been hinting that they are ready to act if things don’t improve and that could mean both more cuts and stimulus. Let’s not forget Draghi is on the way out and he might very well be keen to go out with a bang.

Early in the week, it will be the EUR/USD in focus as we get Eurozone CPI data. The predicted 1.1% YoY figure would not be something Draghi would be happy with so another lacklustre result will only stoke the fire for more dovish measures.

Forex Signal Update

The FX Leaders Team finished with 13 wins from 16 signals for an 81% win rate, in what was one of the best performances of the year. When fear is in the air, short-term traders stand to make the most of the fantastic opportunities. This looks like another great week for trading so keep a close eye on the forex signals page for all the very latest.

GBP/USD – Pending Signal

The GBP/USD has been ticking higher to close out the week but price still remains below the key 1.2200 level. There’s been plenty of selling here and the long-term trend is down so that is an excellent opportunity to find another short position.

GBP/JPY – Pending Signal

The GBP/JPY has broken out of its downtrend and started to pop higher. However, we must remember that the long-term trend is down, so selling into this strength, while counterintuitive, can be an excellent opportunity.

Cryptocurrency Update

BTC had a tough time of things but did reclaim the $10,000 level to close out the week.

Bitcoin dived as low as $9,500 and the fact that it pulled back above is a bullish indicator.

Fear still remains high at the moment and that has sent the price down from the highs of around $14,000 so in percentage terms, the move has been significant.

With all the other news around at the moment, BTC has been forgotten to some extent, but it is at an important inflection point and we will need to see how it responds around $10,000 early in the week.