Quiet end to a busy week sees US in focus

February 24, 2017

An abnormally quiet Friday rounds out an otherwise busy week for markets, as far as announcements are concerned, with the US once again in focus.

The US has a few pieces of data coming out later today. That data includes: New Home Sales, Revised UoM (University of Michigan) Consumer Sentiment and Revised UoM Inflation Expectations.

New Home Sales is important as it gives an indication of the health of the housing sector. As the purchase of a home is a person’s biggest purchase, a strong figure is also a good gauge of consumer confidence within the country. A more confident and secure consumer is likely to spend more money as they see their own financial outlook within the broader economy being safer.  The consumer sentiment data is a vital part in determining consumer confidence and security within the economy. Meanwhile, the inflation data is a good tool to help us get a better picture of inflation within the US economy.

Elsewhere around the world, the UK is reporting its British Bankers’ Association (BBA) Mortgage Approval figures and finally, Canada is publishing CPI, Median CPI, Trimmed CPI and Core CPI data.