The Bank of England and the ECB’s monetary policy meetings were held yesterday. Both the central banks left interest rates unchanged as widely expected. The BoE was seen preparing the markets for a no-deal Brexit. The Governor, Mark Carney will be extending his term as the central bank’s governor until 2020.
Meanwhile, the ECB’s meeting did not offer many clues. The reaction from the euro was also muted although the currency jumped following the ECB’s release of the monetary policy decision.
On the economic front, the consumer price index data for August showed that inflation advanced at a pace of 0.2% on the month. This was below estimates of a 0.3% increase. On a year over year basis, U.S inflation rate advanced 2.7% in August. This was slower than the 2.9% increase in July.
Earlier today, data from China showed that industrial production increased 6.1% on the year. Retail sales rose 9.0% beating estimates of an 8.8% increase.
The European trading session will start with the trade balance figures coming out. This is followed by the Bank of England’s Mark Carney speaking.
The NY trading session will see the release of the retail sales numbers. Headline retail sales are forecast to rise 0.4%, slightly down from 0.5% increase from the month before. Core retail sales are forecast to rise 0.5%. The data is followed by import prices and industrial production figures.
