Economic calendar: FOMC minutes among reports to watch

• FOMC minutes to be released in the evening

• German CPI expected to accelerate to 1.4% YoY

• Manufacturing ISM forecasted to jump to 49 pts

8:55 am GMT - Germany, unemployment rate for December. Expected: 5%. Previous: 5%.

9:30 am GMT - UK, construction PMI for December. Unlike services and manufacturing prints, there are no preliminary releases for the UK construction PMI. Having said that, today’s reading could trigger some moves on the GBP in case there was major deviation from expectations. Markets expect a print of 45.9 pts

1:00 pm GMT - Germany, CPI inflation for December. European inflation accelerated significantly in November but German price growth remained steady for the second month in a row. However, things are expected to change in December as German CPI is seen accelerating from 1.1% YoY to 1.4% YoY.

3:00 pm GMT - US, manufacturing ISM for December. Manufacturing ISM index stabilized near 48 pts. An improvement is expected in December as the index is forecasted to jump to 49 pts. Nevertheless, these levels still hint that the sector is contracting.

4:00 pm GMT - DOE report on oil inventories. Official stockpiles data comes with a two-day lag this week due to New Year’s holiday. Earlier in the week API hinted that crude inventories fell 7.8 million barrels. However, one should keep in mind that today’s trading on oil is likely to be focused on the situation in the Middle East.

7:00 pm GMT - FOMC minutes. The Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at its latest meeting. Updated forecasts were released - GDP was raised, unemployment was lowered and inflation was left unchanged. Chairman Powell warned against trade tensions and sluggish growth in the global economy. Today’s minutes are unlikely to be a surprise to the markets.

Central banker’s speeches

• 4:05 pm GMT - Fed’s Barkin

• 6:15 pm GMT - Fed’s Brainard, Daly and Evans

• 8:30 pm GMT - Fed’s Kaplan and Daly