The week ahead will see a continuation of economic data from across the various regions. In the UK, the inflation numbers for April is expected to show a continued increase in consumer prices, while also we will get to see whether wages have managed to keep up the pace.
In the Eurozone, the second GDP estimates and inflation figures will be coming out this week with data expected to show no changes from the preliminary flash readings. Japan’s first quarter GDP numbers are also coming up this week with data expected to show a modest increase in economic activity in the three months ending March 2017.
Eurozone GDP revision and inflation numbers
Economic data from the Eurozone will see revisions to the GDP and inflation figures, although by and far no major surprises are expected. This means that the first quarter GDP growth in the Eurozone is expected to remain steady at 0.5%, while inflation figures are set to confirm that headline consumer prices rose 1.9% and core inflation rose 1.2%, unrevised from the preliminary estimates released by Eurostat.
The confirmation on the numbers is likely to see more pressure coming onto the ECB amid growing calls for the central bank to ease off the QE pedal. The European Central Bank will be published the meeting minutes from its April meeting this Thursday. Not much information is expected however that will have any impact on the markets.
The German ZEW Economic sentiment will be published on Tuesday. The economic sentiment indices are already at a historically high level as far as Germany is concerned with firming expectations on robust growth that is expected to continue.
In April 2017, the ZEW indicator rose 6.7 points to reach a high of 19.5 which marked a nearly one and a half year’s high. Following the French elections, there is scope for the ZEW economic sentiment to rise even further.
Full report: https://www.orbex.com/blog/2017/05/fx-week-ahead-japans-q1-gdp-uk-inflation-expected-rise/