The week ahead promises relatively little in the way of top-tier economic event risk, but a number of lower-tier data releases could force moves on significant surprises.

The US dollar finished the week nearly unchanged against major counterparts, rallying notably at the outset but giving back gains into Friday’s close.

It will be important to watch for signs of continued strength out of Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data out of various Euro Zone member states on Monday, while German IFO business confidence trends are similarly seen as a leading indicator for economic growth.

Markets anxiously await the results of several key Euro Zone economic data releases in the week ahead.

The ECB held a cautious outlook for the economy and expects banks to tightening borrowing standards further over the coming month as the financial system remains fragile.

The euro may resume its long-term downtrend as investors scrutinize a deeply flawed set of EU bank stress test results amid increasingly lacking support from the unwinding of record speculative short positions.

Attention now shifts to the coming week's Advance Retail Sales and Consumer Price Index reports.

The US dollar finds itself at somewhat of an impasse. On the one hand, the recent downturn in equity markets should boost the safe-haven Greenback against the euro and other key counterparts. On the other, markets seem all too willing to sell US dollars at any sign of trouble for the domestic economy.

The euro remains well within a significant 7-month downtrend.