The international markets ahead are brimming with significant events. Of particular importance to the Euro exchange rate is the ECB Governing Council’s announcement regarding monetary policy. Currently, the expectations for a status quo decision and a 25-basis-point rate hike are quite evenly balanced. Economist predictions seem to slightly favor the status quo camp. On the other hand, short-term financial markets have a slightly higher degree of anticipation for a rate hike. Short-term financial markets are highly responsive to daily developments, and their rate hike expectations have been fluctuating sensitively.
During today’s Council meeting, the ECB staff will present their economic outlook. There have been reports suggesting an upward revision to the inflation outlook within this week, which has contributed to the increasing rate hike expectations.
Given the equilibrium in market expectations for either a status quo or rate hike decision, the disappointment reaction from participants with unexpected positions could be substantial. Subsequently, market dynamics are expected to stabilize gradually, depending on the content of the ECB staff’s outlook and the tone of Christine Lagarde’s ECB President press conference.
Furthermore, amid the ECB event, key US economic data will be released, including US retail sales, producer price index (PPI), and initial jobless claims. Retail sales are anticipated to show a slowdown in growth compared to the previous report. The PPI, similar to the previous day’s consumer price index (CPI), is expected to exhibit an acceleration in headline growth, while core inflation is projected to slow down. Initial jobless claims are expected to see a slight increase. Alongside the response in US bond yields, it will be crucial to monitor the movement of the US dollar.
In the realm of spoken events, the press conference by ECB President Lagarde following the ECB Governing Council meeting is a point of interest. This week, there have been numerous reports concerning the economic downturn in Germany, making it intriguing to see how she addresses concerns about economic slowdown.
