Despite being a short trading week (most markets were closed on Friday for Easter), the third week of April was packed with key events. Investors focused on inflation reports from the UK and the Eurozone, the ECB's rate decision, as well as Germany’s industrial production and economic sentiment. Retail sales and US labor market data were also in the spotlight.
Germany:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, the ZEW Current Conditions Index for April was released. The indicator improved to -81.2, beating both the forecast (-86.0) and the previous reading (-87.6).
● At the same time, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment dropped sharply to -14.0, well below the forecast of 10.6 and the previous value of 51.6, signaling a sharp decline in market sentiment.
Eurozone:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, industrial production data for February was published. Output increased by 1.1% month-over-month, well above the 0.1% forecast and the previous 0.6%.
● The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for the Eurozone also fell significantly to -18.5, missing the 13.2 forecast and dropping from the previous 39.8.
United States:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, the Import Price Index for March was released. It fell by 0.1% month-over-month, contrary to expectations of a 0.1% increase. The previous figure was 0.2%.
Canada:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, the Core Consumer Price Index for March came out. It showed a modest increase of 0.1% month-over-month, much lower than the previous 0.7%.
United Kingdom:
● At 6:00 a.m. GMT, March Consumer Price Index Data was published. Annual inflation slowed to 2.6%, just below the forecast of 2.7% and the previous 2.8%.
Eurozone:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, the Consumer Price Index for March was released. Annual inflation stood at 2.2%, meeting expectations but slightly down from February’s 2.3%.
United States:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, the core retail sales index for March was released. It rose by 0.5% month-over-month, higher than the 0.4% forecast but below the previous 0.7%.
Canada:
● At 1:45 p.m. GMT, the Bank of Canada announced it would keep its interest rate unchanged at 2.75%, as expected.
Eurozone:
● At 12:15 p.m. GMT, the European Central Bank announced a reduction in its key interest rate from 2.65% to 2.40%, in line with forecasts.
United States:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, Initial Jobless Claims data was released. Applications fell to 215,000—better than both the forecast (225,000) and the prior figure (224,000).
● At the same time, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for April showed a steep and unexpected drop to -26.4, compared to a forecast of 2.2 and a previous reading of 12.5.
Canada:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, February data on foreign investment in securities was published. The figure came in at -6.46 billion Canadian dollars, far below expectations of 12.89 billion and the previous 7.91 billion.
153