The first week of April featured major economic developments, including a meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia and the release of labor market data from the US and Canada.
Germany:
● At 7:00 a.m. GMT, retail sales data for February was published. The monthly figure came in at 0.8%, up from 0.7% previously.
Eurozone:
● At 1:00 p.m. GMT, the March inflation report was released. The monthly Consumer Price Index stood at 0.3%, down from the previous 0.4%. The inflation slowed from 2.3% to 2.2% year-over-year.
Australia:
● At 4:30 a.m. GMT, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced its decision to keep the interest rate unchanged at 4.10%, meeting analysts’ expectations.
Eurozone:
● At 10:00 a.m. GMT, March inflation data was released. The core consumer price index declined from 2.6% to 2.4% year-over-year, while headline inflation slowed from 2.3% to 2.2%.
United States:
● At 2:45 p.m. GMT, the March Manufacturing PMI dropped from 52.7 to 50.2.
● At 3:00 p.m. GMT, the ISM manufacturing PMI also declined—from 50.3 to 49.0.
● At the same time, the JOLTS report on February job openings was released. The number of vacancies fell to 7.568 million, down from 7.762 million.
United States:
● At 1:15 p.m. GMT, ADP non-farm payroll data was released. March showed 155,000 new jobs, a significant increase from February’s 84,000.
● At 3:30 p.m. GMT, the US Department of Energy (EIA) released crude oil inventory data, which rose by 6.165 million barrels following a 3.341 million barrel drop the previous week.
Germany:
● At 8:55 a.m. GMT, the March services PMI was published, falling from 51.1 to 50.9.
Eurozone:
● At 9:00 a.m. GMT, the Services PMI rose from 50.6 to 51.0.
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, minutes from the ECB’s monetary policy meeting were released.
United States:
● At 12:30 p.m. GMT, the Initial Jobless Claims report was published. The forecast stood at 219,000, compared to 225,000 the previous week.
● At 2:45 p.m. GMT, the Services PMI for March increased from 51.0 to 54.4.
● At 3:00 p.m. GMT, the ISM Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index dropped from 53.5 to 50.8.
United States:
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, the labor market report was published. Average hourly earnings were expected to rise by 0.3% month-over-month, the same as February. Non-farm payrolls (NFP) were forecast at 137,000, down from 151,000, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%.
Canada:
● At 1:30 p.m. GMT, labor market data was released. Employment change was forecast at 10,400, up from 1,100 previously, while the unemployment rate was expected to increase from 6.6% to 6.7%.
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