The key events of the week were the meetings of the Bank of Canada, the Federal Reserve, and the ECB. Investors also monitored GDP reports from the Eurozone, Germany, the U.S., and Canada, along with inflation data from Australia and Germany.
The report on new home sales for December was released at 15:00 GMT. The figure stood at 698 thousand compared to 674 thousand the previous month.
Eurozone:
● At 8:10 a.m. GMT and 3:35 p.m. GMT, ECB President Christine Lagarde delivered a speech.
Germany:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, the IFO Business Climate Index for January was released, rising from 84.7 to 85.1.
United States:
● At 3:00 p.m. GMT, the December new home sales report was published, showing 698,000 units sold compared to 674,000 in the previous month.
USA:
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, the December durable goods orders report was released. Core orders rose by 0.3% month-over-month after a previous decline of 0.1%, while total orders fell by 2.2% compared to a 2.0% drop in the prior month.
● At 3:00 p.m. GMT, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index was published, showing a decline to 104.1 from 109.5 in the previous period.
Japan:
● At 11:50 p.m. GMT, the Bank of Japan's monetary policy meeting minutes were released.
Australia:
● At 12:30 a.m. GMT, the Q4 2024 inflation report was released. The annual Consumer Price Index dropped from 2.8% to 2.4%, while the quarterly rate remained unchanged at 0.2%.
Canada:
● At 2:45 p.m. GMT, the Bank of Canada announced its meeting results, lowering the interest rate from 3.25% to 3.00%. A statement was also published.
● At 3:30 p.m. GMT, the Bank of Canada held a press conference.
United States:
● At 3:30 p.m. GMT, the EIA crude oil inventory report was released, showing an increase of 3.463 million barrels after a previous decline of 1.017 million.
● At 7:00 p.m. GMT, the Federal Reserve announced its meeting results, keeping the interest rate unchanged at 4.50%. The FOMC statement was also published.
● At 7:30 p.m. GMT, the FOMC held a press conference.
Germany:
● At 9:00 GMT, the Q4 2024 GDP report was released. The annual economic growth rate stood at -0.2%, improving from -0.3% previously, while the quarterly rate declined to -0.2% from 0.1%.
Eurozone:
● At 10:00 a.m. GMT, the Q4 GDP data for the Eurozone was published. The annual rate remained at 0.9%, while the quarterly rate dropped from 0.4% to 0.0%.
● At 1:15 p.m. GMT, the ECB announced its meeting results, lowering the interest rate from 3.15% to 2.90%. A monetary policy statement was also released.
● At 1:45 p.m. GMT, the ECB held a press conference.
United States:
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, the weekly report on initial jobless claims was released, showing 207,000 applications compared to 223,000 previously.
● At the same time, the Q4 GDP data was published, indicating economic growth of 2.3%, down from 3.1% in the previous period.
Germany:
● At 8:55 a.m. GMT, labor market data is expected to be released. The number of unemployed is forecast to increase by 14,000, up from 10,000 previously, while the unemployment rate is projected to rise from 6.1% to 6.2%.
● At 1:00 p.m. GMT, the January inflation report will be published. The annual Consumer Price Index is expected to rise from 2.6% to 2.7%, while the monthly rate is projected to drop from 0.5% to 0.1%.
United States :
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, the personal consumption expenditures report will be released. The core price index is expected to rise by 0.2% month-over-month, up from 0.1% previously. Personal spending is projected to increase by 0.5% after a 0.4% rise in the previous period.
Canada:
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, the GDP data will be published. The economy is expected to contract by 0.1% in November, following a 0.3% growth in the previous period.
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