The markets were busy yesterday as central bank monetary policy meetings continued. After the Fed’s rate hike decision on Wednesday, Thursday was all about the central banks in Europe.
The ECB’s monetary policy meeting saw the central bank leaving monetary policy unchanged. The ECB gave its economic projections which saw an upbeat forecast. However inflation was expected to still remain below the ECB’s 2% inflation target rate by 2020.
The SNB’s meeting was largely a non-event. Focus was mostly on the BoE’s meeting. The central bank sounded optimistic that inflation was nearing its peak at 3.1%. It however said that GDP growth could slow in the coming quarters. The BoE expects a weaker Q4 GDP growth.
Looking ahead, the economic calendar today is quiet for the most part. The trade balance figures from the Eurozone are expected to be released earlier in the day while BoE Chief Economist Andy Haldane is expected to speak.
In the NY Trading session, the Canadian manufacturing sales report will be coming out and the NY Fed will be releasing the Empire State Manufacturing index report. Economists forecast the index will slightly dip to 18.8 for December.
