March 20, 2023
By JustMarkets
This week will be full of important events. On Wednesday is the important monetary policy meeting of the Fed, where policymakers will announce their interest rate decision. Market pricing is leaning toward a quarter-point interest rate hike, which would raise borrowing costs to 5.00%. The Bank of England (BoE) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will hold their meetings on Thursday. Also, inflation data from the UK, Canada, and Japan will be released during the week. The volatile week will finish with data on business activity in different countries’ manufacturing and service sectors.
Monday, March 20
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) will update the interest rate on Monday. No surprises are expected, but volatility in Asian markets may rise. Traders may also be interested in the Eurozone and New Zealand trade balance data.
Main events of the day:
- – China PBoC Loan Prime Rate at 03:15 (GMT+2);
- – German Producer Price Index (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone Trade Balance (m/m) at 12:00 (GMT+2);
- – New Zealand Trade Balance (q/q) at 23:45 (GMT+2).
Tuesday, March 21
The main event on Tuesday will be the inflation data in Canada. Inflationary pressures are expected to be lower, but volatility with the Canadian dollar will increase. Traders should also not miss the RBA’s monetary policy minutes, which will show how RBA policymakers voted at the last meeting. It’s a bank holiday in Japan.
Main events of the day:
- – Australia RBA Meeting Minutes at 02:30 (GMT+2);
- – German ZEW Economic Sentiment (m/m) at 12:00 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment (m/m) at 12:00 (GMT+2);
- – Canada Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 14:30 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone ECB President Lagarde Speaks at 14:30 (GMT+2);
- – US Existing Home Sales (m/m) at 16:00 (GMT+2).
Wednesday, March 22
On Wednesday, the Fed will hold a meeting on monetary policy and interest rates. This is a crucial meeting that will show how policymakers will respond to banking sector problems. Analysts are expecting a 0.25% rate hike, but there is a 30% chance that the Fed may press pause in QT. Volatility with USD currency pairs will increase sharply. It should also be noted that the UK will publish inflation data in the morning, which will influence the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday. A decline in consumer prices is projected.
Main events of the day:
- – UK Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2);
- – UK Producer Price Index (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone ECB President Lagarde Speaks at 10:45 (GMT+2);
- – US Crude Oil Reserves (w/w) at 16:30 (GMT+2);
- – US FOMC Economic Projections at 20:00 (GMT+2);
- – US Fed Interest Rate Decision at 20:00 (GMT+2);
- – US FOMC Statement at 20:00 (GMT+2);
- – US FOMC Press Conference at 20:30 (GMT+2).
Thursday, March 23
Thursday will also be a volatile day. The Asian session will release important inflation data in Singapore and Hong Kong. Next, the SNB will hold a monetary policy meeting where it is expected to raise the interest rate by 0.5%, which is highly unusual for the SNB. Then the Bank of England will hold its meeting. The BoE is expected to raise rates by 0.25% if inflation data does not disappoint on Tuesday.
Main events of the day:
- – Hong Kong Interest Rate Decision at 04:30 (GMT+2);
- – Singapore Consumer Price Index (m/m) at 07:00 (GMT+2);
- – Hong Kong Consumer Price Index at 10:30 (GMT+2);
- – Switzerland SNB Interest Rate Decision at 10:30 (GMT+2);
- – Switzerland SNB Monetary Policy Assessment at 10:30 (GMT+2);
- – Switzerland SNB Press Conference at 11:00 (GMT+2);
- – UK BoE Interest Rate Decision at 14:00 (GMT+2);
- – UK BoE MPC Meeting Minutes at 14:00 (GMT+2);
- – US Initial Jobless Claims (w/w) at 14:30 (GMT+2);
- – US New Home Sales (m/m) at 16:00 (GMT+2);
- – US Natural Gas Storage (w/w) at 16:30 (GMT+2).
Friday, March 24
Friday will bring various Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI statistics for many countries. This data shows how the economy works in times of high-interest rates. Rising rates are a sign of a resilient economy. In Japan, consumer price data will be released. Analysts expect inflation to decline, but there may be surprises, so traders should be focused.
Main events of the day:
- – Australia Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 00:00 (GMT+2);
- – Australia Services PMI (m/m) at 00:00 (GMT+2);
- – Japan National Core CPI (m/m) at 01:30 (GMT+2);
- – Japan Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 02:30 (GMT+2);
- – Japan Services PMI (m/m) at 02:30 (GMT+2);
- – UK Retail Sales (m/m) at 09:00 (GMT+2);
- – German Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 10:30 (GMT+2);
- – German Services PMI (m/m) at 10:30 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+2);
- – Eurozone Services PMI (m/m) at 11:00 (GMT+2);
- – UK Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+2);
- – UK Services PMI (m/m) at 11:30 (GMT+2);
- – US Durable Goods Orders (m/m) at 14:30 (GMT+2);
- – Canada Retail Sales (m/m) at 14:30 (GMT+2);
- – US Manufacturing PMI (m/m) at 15:45 (GMT+2);
- – US Services PMI (m/m) at 15:45 (GMT+2).
By JustMarkets
This article reflects a personal opinion and should not be interpreted as an investment advice, and/or offer, and/or a persistent request for carrying out financial transactions, and/or a guarantee, and/or a forecast of future events.
