Why Inflation is the Key Variable Going Forward
What’s in Today’s Report:
- Why Inflation Is the Key Variable Going Forward
- Weekly Market Preview: More Clarity on Fed Rate Hikes This Week?
- Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet: CPI Thursday, Inflation Expectations Friday.
Futures are slightly lower following a quiet weekend as investors digested the strong jobs report and last weeks’ hawkish surprises from the ECB and BOE.
ECB officials downplayed the idea of a summer rate hike over the weekend but didn’t rule out a hike in 2022 (largely confirming the hawkish commentary from Lagarde).
Economic data remained mixed as China’s Caixin services PMI beat estimates (51.4 vs. (E) 50.5) but German Industrial Production missed expectations (-0.3% vs. (E) 0.4%) although the data isn’t moving markets.
Today should be a generally quiet day, as from a market influence standpoint all the really important companies have released earnings, so earnings season is “over” for all intents and purposes. Additionally, there’s only one notable economic report, Consumer Credit ($21.0 bln), but given the strength of personal balance sheets that shouldn’t move markets today. On the geo-political front, French President Macron travels to Moscow to meet with Putin about Ukraine, and any positive headlines could produce a mild tailwind on stocks.
