Highlights
For this week, the market focus is on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony on monetary policy at the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. He is expected to repeat that the central bank is not in a hurry to cut interest rates amid sticky services costs.
Both the Bank of Canada (Wednesday) and the European Central Bank (Thursday) are widely expected to leave their policy interest rates unchanged as they look for clearer signs that inflation is coming down close to their targets.
US jobs data for February is expected to point to resilient labor market conditions, although employment growth is seen easing from a rapid pace in January. Employment in Canada is also expected to continue increasing but at a slower pace in February while the unemployment rate is seen ticking up after sliding in January.
The European and North American data calendars are thin on Monday.
US motor vehicle sales are expected to rise to 15.5 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in February after falling to a lower-than-expected 15.0 million in January from an upwardly revised 16.1 million in December.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak on the"Economic Impact of Higher Education" before the 2024 American Council on Education Presidents and Chancellors Summit at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT).
Consumer inflation in Tokyo, the leading indicator of the national average, is forecast to accelerate in February after easing at a fast pace in January as the base effect of utility subsidies that was first reflected in February 2023 bills has waned and overseas package tour prices surged after the government resumed web-scraping data collection that added three years of price change, offsetting the impact of a slower gain in processed food prices.
The core CPI (excluding fresh food), the key measure for the Bank of Japan's policy decision, is expected to post a 2.4 percent gain on year after marking a 22-month low of a 1.6 percent rise in January. The year-over-year increase in the total CPI is also seen picking up to 2.4 percent after easing to 1.6 percent, a 22-month low. The core-core CPI (excluding fresh food and energy) annual rate is expected to ease slightly to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent.
China's S&P purchasing mangers' index (PMI) for the services sector is forecast at 52.9 in February, up slightly from 52.7 in January. That would match December's 52.9, which was a five-month high.
Both the Bank of Canada (Wednesday) and the European Central Bank (Thursday) are widely expected to leave their policy interest rates unchanged as they look for clearer signs that inflation is coming down close to their targets.
US jobs data for February is expected to point to resilient labor market conditions, although employment growth is seen easing from a rapid pace in January. Employment in Canada is also expected to continue increasing but at a slower pace in February while the unemployment rate is seen ticking up after sliding in January.
The European and North American data calendars are thin on Monday.
US motor vehicle sales are expected to rise to 15.5 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in February after falling to a lower-than-expected 15.0 million in January from an upwardly revised 16.1 million in December.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak on the"Economic Impact of Higher Education" before the 2024 American Council on Education Presidents and Chancellors Summit at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT).
Consumer inflation in Tokyo, the leading indicator of the national average, is forecast to accelerate in February after easing at a fast pace in January as the base effect of utility subsidies that was first reflected in February 2023 bills has waned and overseas package tour prices surged after the government resumed web-scraping data collection that added three years of price change, offsetting the impact of a slower gain in processed food prices.
The core CPI (excluding fresh food), the key measure for the Bank of Japan's policy decision, is expected to post a 2.4 percent gain on year after marking a 22-month low of a 1.6 percent rise in January. The year-over-year increase in the total CPI is also seen picking up to 2.4 percent after easing to 1.6 percent, a 22-month low. The core-core CPI (excluding fresh food and energy) annual rate is expected to ease slightly to 3.0 percent from 3.1 percent.
China's S&P purchasing mangers' index (PMI) for the services sector is forecast at 52.9 in February, up slightly from 52.7 in January. That would match December's 52.9, which was a five-month high.
Definition
Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.
Description
Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.
