Economic calendar: Government actions remain in focus

• Risk-off moods returned during Asian session

• Government actions in focus

• RBA to make policy announcement overnight

Risk-off moods returned to the markets as stimulus measures unveiled by governments failed to boost sentiment for longer. Stocks in Asia declined, S&P 500 futures hit limit down and DAX futures point to 4.5% drop at cash session open. RBA is set to make a monetary policy announcement today. Other major central banks took action already so the focus will be on government actions.

European & US session

10:00 am GMT - Euro area, CPI for February (final). Expected: 1.2% You

12:30 pm GMT - US, housing starts for February. Expected: -4.3% MoM. Previous: -3.6% MoM

12:30 pm GMT - Canada, CPI for February. Expected: 2.1%. Previous: 2.4%

2:30 pm GMT - DOE report on oil inventories. Oil is being hammered by rising supply and declining demand. WTI is trading below $27 while Brent is quoted just $2 higher. DOE report is unlikely to change the sentiment on the oil market but may offer some short-term volatility. Yesterday’s API data hinted at 0.4 mb decline.

Asian session

9:45 pm GMT - New Zealand, GDP for Q4 2019. Expected: 0.5% QoQ

11:30 pm GMT - Japan, CPI inflation for February. Expected: 0.5% YoY

0:30 am GMT - Australia, employment change for February. Expected: +6.3k

3:30 am GMT - RBA monetary policy announcement. The Reserve Bank of Australia announced that it will issue a monetary policy statement on Thursday morning. Rumours are mounting that the Bank is readying to launch the QE programme. Governor Lowe is set to speak at 5:00 am GMT.