The Week Ahead – Economic Data, Monetary Policy, and Geopolitics in Focus

On the Macro

It’s a quieter week ahead on the economic calendar, with 45 stats in focus in the week ending 23^rd April. In the week prior, 72 stats had been in focus.

For the Dollar:

After a quiet 1^st half of the week, the weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday will influence.

Expect any increase in claims to test market risk appetite.

On Friday, prelim private sector PMI figures for April wrap things up. The services PMI will have the greatest impact on the markets.

In the week ending 16^th April, the Dollar Spot Index fell by 0.66% to 91.556.

For the EUR:

It’s a quiet start to the week on the economic data front.

German wholesale inflation figures for March are due out on Tuesday. Increased market sensitivity to inflation will give the numbers greater attention than usual.

The focus will then shift to prelim April private sector PMIs for France, Germany, and the Eurozone on Friday.

On the monetary policy front, the ECB will also deliver its first monetary policy decision of the quarter on Thursday.

While the ECB is expected to stand pat on interest rates, updates on the bond purchasing program will be the main area of interest.

From the ECB press conference, views on the economic outlook will also need monitoring on the day.

At the end of the week, ECB President Lagarde will be back in action. Following the Thursday press conference, however, there shouldn’t be too many surprises.

The EUR ended the week up by 0.66% to $1.1977.

For the Pound:

It’s a busy week ahead on the economic calendar.

In the first half of the week, employment, wages, and inflation figures will be in focus.

Expect March claimant counts and annual rate of inflation to be the key drivers.

The focus will then shift to March retail sales and prelim private sector PMIs for April on Friday.

Expect the retail sales and services PMI figures to be the key drivers at the end of the week.

On the monetary policy front, BoE Gov. Bailey is scheduled to speak on Wednesday. Expect any views on the economic outlook or monetary policy to influence.

The Pound ended the week up by 0.53% to $1.3779.

For the Loonie:

It’s a relatively busy week ahead on the economic calendar.

On Wednesday, March inflation figures will be in focus ahead of house price figures on Thursday.

Expect the inflation figures to be the key driver, with focus likely to be on the core inflation figures.

On the monetary policy front, the BoC is also in action on Wednesday. With the BoC expected to stand pat on policy, the monetary policy report will be the main area of focus.

The Loonie ended the week up 0.22% to C$1.2503 against the U.S Dollar.

Out of Asia

For the Aussie Dollar:

It’s a quiet week ahead.

Prelim retail sales figures are due out on Wednesday. With consumption key to the economic recovery, expect plenty of sensitivity to the numbers.

On the monetary policy front, the RBA meeting minutes on Tuesday will also influence.

The Aussie Dollar ended the week up by 1.46% to $0.7734.

For the Kiwi Dollar:

It’s a quiet week ahead.

1^st quarter inflation figures are due out on Wednesday.

Expect sensitivity to the numbers, with the markets having little else to consider in the week.

The Kiwi Dollar ended the week up by 1.55% to $0.7142.

For the Japanese Yen:

It is also a relatively quiet week ahead.

Early in the week, March trade data and finalized industrial production figures for February are due out.

Expect the trade data to have the greatest influence in the week.

At the end of the week, inflation figures for March and private sector PMIs will also draw interest. Expect the private sector PMI and services PMI in particular to have the greatest influence.

The Japanese Yen rose by 0.79% to ¥108.80 against the U.S Dollar.

Out of China

It’s a particularly quiet week ahead.

There were no material stats to provide the broader financial markets with direction in the week.

While there are no stats to consider, the PBoC is in action on Tuesday. The markets are expecting the PBoC to leave 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates unchanged.

The Chinese Yuan ended the week up by 0.49% to CNY6.5206 against the U.S Dollar.

Geo-Politics

U.S-China and U.S-Russia relations are the main areas of focus in the week ahead.

The markets will also need to monitor any chatter from Iran, however.

Corporate Earnings

There are some big names on the docket in the week ahead…

From the U.S:

IBM (Mon), Coca Cola (Mon), Procter & Gamble (Tue), Netflix (Tue), Johnson & Johnson (Tue), and American Express (Fri).

From the EU:

Nestle (Thurs), Renault (Thurs), Daimler (Fri), and Software AG (Fri).