It was a massive week for investors last week as they digested rate updates from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, as well as absorbing fresh data inputs culminating in a huge NFP surprise on Friday. Although the event calendar isn’t as jam-packed as last week, there is still plenty of potential for volatility in the days ahead as we hear from more central bankers and geopolitical concerns continue to weigh on some markets with the US increasing activity in the Red Sea to protect shipping lanes.
Here is our usual day-by-day break down of the major risk events scheduled this week:
The trading week kicks off with a potential bang this week with Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell appearing on 60 Minutes in the US shortly after the Asian trading session opens. Later in the day, the focus will move to China for the release of the latest Caixin Services PMI number. There is little on the European calendar, but traders will be looking closely at the latest ISM Services PMI number in the US once the New York session begins and the US traders get the chance to react to the Fed Chair’s earlier comments.
There will be a strong focus on Australia on Tuesday in the APAC session as the RBA announces its latest rate call, the expectation is for a ‘no change’ call and once again the main attention will be on the statement and press conference. The London session sees traders’ attention firmly on the UK with the release of Construction PMI data early in the day before the focus moves to Canada on the New York open as the Ivey PMI data is released and we hear from Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem.
The event calendar kicks off early in the day in the Asian session with a focus on the land of the long white cloud as the New Zealand employment numbers hit the market. It’s a long wait for the next key update which comes once the North American markets open with speeches from FOMC members Kugler and Barkin and the US 10-year bond auction result.
The Asian session will have a firm focus again on the Chinese economy with the release of key inflation numbers in the form of the CPI and PPI numbers. The European session is relatively quiet again although sterling traders will pay close attention to what MPC member Catherine Mann says later in the day. The US session has the usual weekly unemployment claims numbers due out and we also hear from the FOMC’s Thomas Barkin on two separate occasions.
It is set to be a relatively quiet end to the week with only a couple of major risk events of note on the calendar which bracket the trading day. The Asian session will have Aussie dollar traders on their toes early as Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock is due to testify before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, in Canberra. There is little of note in the European session although we do hear from Buba President Joachim Nagel at an awards ceremony in Paris. The New York session sees initial investor focus north of the border with the Canadian employment data due out early in the day before attention moves back to New York and those key closes on Wall Street.
