US & Europe kick off a very hectic week of announcements

February 27, 2017

While there are not many announcements today, what is being released as it has the ability to move markets. This is just a prelude to a very busy week ahead.

The US is reporting a few important pieces of information later tonight. This information includes: Durable & Core Durable Goods Orders and Pending Home Sales. The good orders data reflects the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers for durable goods. This data is important as manufacturing has been in decline in the US for many years. However, President Donald Trump has vowed to revive the manufacturing sector, so it will be interesting to see if there are any positive effects of Donald Trump’s promises. The Pending Home Sales data shows the change in the number of homes under contract to be sold but still awaiting final settlement. Fed Reserve Member Robert Kaplan is also due to speak.

Europe is releasing a few pieces of data that will be of interest. This data includes: Spanish Flash CPI, M3 Money Supply and Private Loans. The most important of these figures of course is the CPI data. This is crucial to the economic health of Spain. Inflation generally means there is more demand for products, which in turn means that consumers are generally more confident in spending their disposable income. The money supply data shows the change in total domestic currency in circulation and deposited in banks while the Private Loans data reveals the change in the total value of new loans issued to consumers and businesses in the private sector.

Elsewhere, Japan is publishing Prelim Industrial Production and Retail Sales.