EUROPEAN SESSION

In the European session, the only highlight was the UK GDP report. The data showed a record fourth straight month of increase in services output. And the good news is that the growth was more widespread with 12 of the 14 subsectors showing positive increases in activity. Nonetheless, the market reaction was rather muted since the data precedes the US-Iran war.

We will also get the final Eurozone CPI for March, but that’s not going to change anything for the ECB at the moment as the central bank awaits more data before deciding whether a rate hike is needed.

AMERICAN SESSION

In the American session, we get the latest US Jobless Claims figures. Initial Claims are expected at 213K vs 219K prior, while Continuing Claims are seen at 1810K vs 1794K prior. The US jobs data has been showing a resilient and even improving labour market. This is not a concern for now, on the contrary, it’s good news for growth.

But if we see a stronger improvement with upside risks to wage growth, then even if oil prices ease from the current elevated levels, the Fed might eventually consider a rate hike given that it’s been missing the 2% target since 2021.

CENTRAL BANK SPEAKERS

• 12:30 GMT/08:30 ET – ECB’s Kazaks (neutral – voter)
• 12:35 GMT/08:35 ET – Fed’s Williams (neutral – voter)
• 13:00 GMT/09:00 ET – ECB’s Schnabel (neutral – voter)
• 14:35 GMT/10:35 ET – Fed’s Miran (dove – voter)
• 15:15 GMT/11:15 ET – ECB’s Rehn (neutral – voter)
• 15:40 GMT/11:40 ET – BoE’s Taylor (neutral – voter)
• 16:00 GMT/12:00 ET – ECB’s Villeroy (neutral – voter)
• 16:00 GMT/12:00 ET – ECB’s Kocher (neutral – voter)
• 16:00 GMT/12:00 ET – SNB’s Tschudin (neutral – voter)
• 16:45 GMT/12:45 ET – ECB’s Nagel (neutral – voter)
• 18:30 GMT/14:30 ET – RBA’s Hunter (neutral – voter)
• 18:30 GMT/14:30 ET – ECB’s Lane (neutral – voter)
• 19:00 GMT/15:00 ET – BoE’s Taylor (neutral – voter)

This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.