It’s shaping up as another busy day of announcements, with the US again in focus, with the UK and Europe also featuring.

The US is releasing a number of pieces of information in the early hours of tomorrow morning, including; CPI & Core CPI, Capacity Utilisation Rate, Industrial Production, NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) Housing Market Index, TIC Long-Term Purchases and Beige Book. The most vital of these figures are the CPI figures. These figures are crucial to help determine inflation in the world’s largest economy. Inflation plays an important role in the growth of an economy. Higher inflation means money is being spent by consumers on goods and services. This money flows throughout the economy, leading to economic growth. Inflation also helps guide interest rate policy. If inflation rises too high, then interest rates are generally increased to slow inflation down. In these times of low global inflation, an uptick is seen as a huge positive. Capacity Utilisation Rate reflects the percentage of available resources being utilised by manufacturers and utilities etc. This is important as a higher percentage reflects stronger demand for resources, which in turn means more products are being manufactured and then sold. Industrial Production data reflects the relative strength of the industrial sector, a big part of the US economy. The Beige Book is also considered quite important as it gives us an indication of general economic conditions as seen by the 12 Fed Reserve banks and their districts. The Fed Reserve uses the Beige Book to help determine interest rate policy. Meanwhile, Fed Chair Janet Yellen and Fed Member Neel Kashkari are due to speak.

The UK are releasing a few pieces of information, including; Average Earnings Index, Claimant Count Change and their Unemployment Rate. All of these figures are related to the jobs market. These figures are vital to keep track of, particularly in a post – Brexit world. The UK economy has so far been quite resilient, but will it last?

Europe is releasing three CPI figures. These are; German Final CPI, European Final CPI and European Final Core CPI. As with the US, the CPI figures are crucial in tracking inflation throughout the continent. This particularly vital considering Europe has had to deal with anaemic inflation for years. An increase in inflation would be taken as a huge positive for the continent.

Elsewhere, Canada is announcing its monetary policy decision (Overnight Rate) as well as its Monetary Policy Report and Rate Statement. The Bank of Canada is also holding a press conference.