It was a massive week for investors last week with several central banks making rate calls and a succession of tier 1 data releases. The week ahead does look to present potentially smoother trading conditions concerning scheduled risk events, but given the historical levels that some financial products are trading at, investors are expecting to see more moves in the days ahead before holiday trading conditions hit at the end of the week.
Here’s our usual day-by-day breakdown of the major economy’s scheduled risk events:
A quiet calendar start to the week again. Bank of Japan Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes will certainly have a bit more interest than usual given their first hike for 17 years last week in the Asian session and traders are expecting to see further moves in the Yen. There is little of note scheduled to be released in the European session on Monday. However, we do have our first, and certainly not last, US data release of the week in the New York session with the latest New Homes Sales numbers out early in the piece.
There is not much scheduled to trouble traders in the first two sessions of the day, but some key data releases are scheduled in the New York session in the form of the Durable Goods Numbers and the latest CB Consumer Confidence data release.
Investor focus will kick off the Asian session in Australia early in the session with the release of the latest CPI data release, with the expectation for a slight rise in the year-on-year number to 3.5%. The European session sees the release of the key Spanish CPI numbers and the MPC Meeting minutes later in the day. It’s set to be relatively quiet in the US Day with less scheduled, although Oil traders will take note of the latest US inventory numbers and investors will be keen to hear what the FOMC’s Waller has to say late in the session.
Once again Australian markets are in focus early in the day as Retail Sales numbers are released. The European session is again relatively quiet, with only tier 3 data due for release, but the New York session looks set to be a busy one. Both Canadian and US GDP numbers are scheduled for release early in the session along with the weekly US unemployment claims data. Later in the day the Pending Homes and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment updates are due out.
Holiday trading conditions are set to hit markets on Friday as many major centres are closed for the Good Friday Easter Holiday. The majority of APAC markets are still open, and investors will focus on Japan early in the day with the Tokyo CPI data due out alongside a raft of other Japanese numbers. Most of the major European centres are closed and there is little out on the event calendar in that session, however, US markets are open and there are two key events scheduled that will take us into the long weekend. First up we have the crucial Core PCE Price Index data due out – well touted as the Fed’s favored inflation number and this is followed later in the day by an event where we hear from the FOMC Chair Jerome Powell. Both events could lead to some big moves given the lower liquidity levels normally experienced ahead of a big holiday weekend.
