Economic calendar: Speeches from Fed members, API report

• European indices set to open flat

• Speeches from Fed members and ECB President Lagarde

• API report on oil inventories

European index futures point to a more or less flat opening of the European cash session. Asian session has been quite calm with no major news surfacing. Looking at the economic calendar for the day ahead we can see that there are barely any releases scheduled and those that are rarely trigger major market moves. Speeches from central bankers look like the most likely source of volatility today, apart from war-related news of course. Speech from the ECB President will be related to challenges for central banks in the digital world and therefore may not have much of an impact on the euro. Fed members in the afternoon may help move USD and US bonds.

When it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war, no significant progress was achieved in peace talks so far. Russian land offensive stalled and Russia resorts to long-range missile strikes. Russia-Ukraine talks are held almost daily but they are yet to produce any meaningful result. Traders should watch newsflow carefully as potential entry of Belarus into conflict, which Ukrainian and Western intelligence warned may happen within days, could trigger some risk-off moves.

2:00 pm GMT - US, Richmond manufacturing index for March. Expected: 2. Previous: 1

8:40 pm GMT - API report on oil inventories. Expected: -1.0 mb. Previous: _3.75 mb

Central bankers' speeches

• 1:15 pm GMT - ECB President Lagarde

• 2:30 pm GMT - Fed Williams

• 6:00 pm GMT - Fed Daly

• 9:00 pm GMT - Fed Mester