Quite a few important announcements to come out today, with the US dominate proceedings.

Shortly, US Fed Reserve Chair is due to speak at a town hall meeting in Washington DC. This could be quite an important meeting as we draw closer to the new presidential administration being sworn in on Jan 20. The President-Elect has been vocal in his disapproval of the Fed Reserve, and in particular, Yellen. It will be quite interesting to see the language used by the Fed Chair and how she views monetary policy direction under Donald Trump.

As far as announcements are concerned, the US is releasing a host of crucial economic figures, mainly in the early hours of tomorrow morning. This includes: Retail & Core Retail Sales, PPI & Core PPI, Prelim UoM (University of Michigan) Consumer Sentiment & Inflation Expectations and finally, Business Inventories. Meanwhile, Fed Reserve (FOMC) Member Patrick Harker is set to speak. Retail Sales figures are vital to determine the strength of the retail sector in the world’s largest economy. A strengthening retail sector also reflects stronger consumer demand and also a more confident consumer. Consumers that are more confident in the economy tend to spend more money as they feel their own personal financial situation is more secure. The PPI figures are crucial as they reflect the change in price for goods and services sold by producers. An increase in prices generally means that there is a stronger demand for the product/service sold. This means that consumers are spending money, which contributes to inflation and economic growth. The Consumer Sentiment figure gives us an indication of consumer confidence with the US economy. Inflation Expectations is a prediction of the official government inflation figures and the Business Inventories data shows the change in the total value of goods held in inventory by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Elsewhere, China is releasing crucial Trade Balance data, while also releasing USD-Denominated Trade Balance figures. Europe is releasing German Wholesale Price Index figures, while the BOE is releasing its Credit Conditions Survey. Finally, Monetary Policy Member (MPC) Michael Saunders, is set to speak.