Trade Magnates -The week ahead starts off on a slow note with US, Canada and Japan trading floors are closed because of bank holidays. The week will not continue to be slow with the focus being on the UK’s September manufacturing production and construction output data and the FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday.
The FOMC meeting released last month showed that the Fed would begin its balance sheet operations from October. Will we see more details on the Fed’s plans within this week meeting minutes? Traders are watching closely to secure their positions and to see whether the Fed is planning on a rate hike.
Investors are cautious as they are looking forward to knowing who will be the next head of the Federal Reserve starting when president Trump announces in the coming weeks his candidacy list. Expected uncertainty for the US monetary policy and major risk on US dollar will be after these events.
In addition to the FOMC minutes, the retail sales and CPI data for September will be released. Inflation and retail sales numbers could be distorted because of the hurricanes that hit the US shores in September.
Second-tier data is expected this week from the Eurozone. This includes industrial production numbers for France and Germany, followed by the industrial production figures for the Eurozone. The Sentix investor confidence for the Eurozone will also be coming up during the week. ECB President, Mario Draghi will be speaking this week at an event in Washington DC. With the ECB meeting just a few weeks away, the markets will be closely tuning into any references to monetary policy from Draghi.
The week ends with the final inflation figures from Germany.