Economic Calendar: A Calm End to the Week for Markets

Today, the final Friday of March, brings a relatively calm macroeconomic calendar. Despite several releases from Europe and the United States, the day is rather light on key data that could trigger stronger market moves. Investors’ attention is mainly focused on the afternoon report from the U.S.—the final University of Michigan data—which traditionally provide important insights into consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.

Economic Calendar (CET):

08:00 – United Kingdom: Retail Sales (February)

• m/m: -0.4% (forecast: -0.7%, prior: 2.0%)
• y/y: 2.5% (forecast: 2.1%, prior: 4.8%)

08:00 – Norway: Core Retail Sales ex. Cars s.a. (February)

• m/m: -1.1% (prior: 1.1%)

08:30 – Hungary: Unemployment Rate (February)

• (prior: 4.6%)

09:00 – Slovakia: Producer Price Index PPI (February)

• m/m: (prior: -0.6%)
• y/y: (prior: -1.3%)

09:00 – Spain: Flash CPI/HICP Inflation (March)

• CPI m/m: forecast 1.2% (prior: 0.4%)
• HICP m/m: forecast 1.2% (prior: 0.4%)
• CPI y/y: forecast 3.7% (prior: 2.3%)
• HICP y/y: forecast 3.9% (prior: 2.5%)

09:00 – Poland: Leading Economic Indicator (BIEC) (March)

• (prior: 173.2)

15:00 – United States: University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (March, final)

• Sentiment index: forecast 54 (prior: 56.6)
• Short-term inflation expectations: 3.4% (unchanged)
• Long-term inflation expectations: forecast 3.2% (prior: 3.3%)

16:30 – United States: Speech by Mary Daly (Fed San Francisco)

16:40 – United States: Speech by Anna Paulson (Fed Philadelphia)

17:00 – Eurozone: Speech by Isabel Schnabel (ECB)

18:00 – United States: Baker Hughes Rig Count (weekly)

• forecast: 415 (prior: 414)