Economic calendar: Powell’s testimony and key UK data

• Crucial UK data to be released in the morning

• Powell to testify before House panel

• Number of central bankers scheduled to speak today

10:30 am GMT - UK, GDP for Q4 and production for December. Release of the UK data will be a major point of today’s European session. It is expected that the UK economy neither grew, nor contracted during the final quarter of 2019 (0.0% QoQ). In annual terms growth should slow to 0.8% YoY. Simultaneously, production data for December will be released. Industrial production is seen rising 0.3% MoM while manufacturing production should increase 0.5% MoM.

3:00 pm GMT - Fed Chairman Powell testifies. Today is the first day of Jerome Powell’s semi-annual testimonies in Congress. The Fed Chair will appear before the House Financial Services Committee. The US top central banker is likely to repeat that the economy and monetary policy are in a good place. However, it is likely that he will be pressed on the issue of coronavirus.

9:40 pm GMT - API report on oil inventories. Expected: +3mb. Previous: +4.2 mb

Asian session

1:00 am GMT - RBNZ interest rate decision. Expected: 1.00%. Previous: 1.00%

Central bankers’ speeches

• 2:00 pm GMT - ECB President Lagarde

• 3:35 pm GMT - BoE Governor Carney

• 4:30 pm GMT - ECB’s Schnabel

• 5:00 pm GMT - BoE’s Haskel

• 5:00 pm GMT - ECB’s Lane

• 5:15 pm GMT - Fed’s Quarles

• 6:30 pm GMT - Fed’s Bullard

• 7:15 pm GMT - Fed’s Kashkari

• 8:50 pm GMT - RBA’s Heath

Major earnings releases scheduled for today

• LYFT (LUFT.US)

• Western Union (WU.US)

• Under Armour (UA.US)