The European trading session saw the Swiss National Bank leaving its monetary policy unchanged. The SNB’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged was widely expected.
The Norges bank monetary policy meeting saw interest rates being hiked. Norway’s key interest rates now stand at 0.75% from 0.50% which marked a record low in interest rates history for Norway.
Retail sales data in the UK rose 0.3% on the month. This beat estimates of a 0.2% decline. Previous month’s retail sales were also revised higher to show a 0.9% increase.
Data from the U.S. showed existing home sales increased by 5.34 million. The data was slightly below the median estimates.
The economic calendar today will see the release of the flash manufacturing and services PMI reports from the Eurozone. Data is expected to show no major changes to the business activity in the sectors.
The NY trading session is relatively quiet. Canada’s inflation data will be the major event of the day. Headline inflation is forecast to decline by 0.1% on the month. This follows a 0.5% increase in inflation during the month before.
Retail sales reports are also due. Headline retail sales in Canada are expected to rise 0.3% following a 0.2% decline in the previous month. Core retail sales are expected to rise 0.6% after a 0.1% decline previously.
