The US Dollar is benefiting from today's market sentiment, now trading at a 2-week high against the pound and now into the 1.26s. This precedes a busy latter end to the week of US, EU & UK economic data.
Kicking off on Wednesday morning a hat-trick of data is expected to arrive out of the UK including PPI, Retail index, and the highly anticipated CPI (inflation) figures. Later on Wednesday, the ECB's President Lagarde is set to speak to give the latest outlook on the Eurozone economy. This is followed by the Fed interest rate decision in the evening where traders will be listening out for any further insight to when rate cuts will arrive.
Thursday morning then sees Eurozone & UK PMI figures for Manufacturing. However, the BoE rate decision taking place at mid-day will look to steal the show. A vote to keep rates unchanged is almost entirely priced in on the markets, however again traders will be keen to see how the voting pattern pans out across the MPC, and very importantly as to whether the traditionally hawkish Catherine Mann continues to vote in favour of a rate hike, or change tune to keep rates at 5.25%. Notably, we then have US Manufacturing PMI's in the evening to complete the trifecta.
To round off the week, UK retail sales for February are set to published in the early hours of Friday, with prediction of -0.3% growth from the same time last year. Finally, later on the Fed's Chair Powell is due to speak to perhaps shed some further light on the policy makers longer term approach to US interest rates post- Wednesday's rate decision.
