Chris Beauchamp's insight

This week sees the release of UK inflation data, along with figures on employment and wages plus monthly retail sales. Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve bank (Fed) and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meetings will be worth monitoring, along with the German ZEW reading. On the earnings front, UK insurers such as Legal & General and Aviva report, and in the US Home Depot, Cisco and Walmart provide earnings updates.

Monday

None

Tuesday

12.50am – Japan GDP (Q2): growth expected to be 3.2% YoY and 1% QoQ. Markets to watch: JPY crosses

2.30am – RBA meeting minutes: these will cover the decision to leave rates unchanged at 4.1%. Markets to watch: AUD crosses

7am – UK employment data: June unemployment rate to hold at 4%, while average earnings including bonus to rise 6.8%. Markets to watch: GBP crosses

10am – German ZEW index (August): index to fall to -16. Markets to watch: EUR crosses

1.30pm – US retail sales (July): expected to rise 0.3% MoM. Markets to watch: USD crosses

1.30pm – Canada CPI (July): prices to rise 2.8% YoY and 0.1% MoM, in line with last month. Markets to watch: CAD crosses

Wednesday

7am – UK CPI (July): prices in the UK expected to rise 7.4% YoY, from 7.9% in June, and 0.1% MoM, in line with the previous month. Core CPI to be 6.8% YoY, down from 6.9%. Markets to watch: GBP crosses

3.30pm – US EIA crude oil inventories (w/e 11 August): stockpiles rose by 5.8 million barrels in the previous week. Markets to watch: Brent, WTI

7pm – FOMC minutes: these will cover the July meeting and the decision to raise rates by 25bps. Markets to watch: US indices, USD crosses

Thursday

2.30am – Australia employment data (July): unemployment rate to hold at 3.5%. Markets to watch: AUD crosses

1.30pm – US initial jobless claims (w/e 12 August): claims to rise by 241K, down from 248K in the previous week. Markets to watch: USD crosses

Friday

12.30am – Japan CPI (July): prices to rise 3.4% YoY and core CPI to rise 3.1%. Markets to watch: JPY crosses

7am – UK retail sales (July): sales rose 0.7% MoM in June. Markets to watch: GBP crosses

3pm – US Michigan consumer sentiment (August): index to drop to 70.9 from 71.6. Markets to watch: USD crosses