It was a very light session, with no major data or news releases. Markets were also quite quiet with things expected to go down further during the NA session due to the US holiday. As a reminder, the US stock market and bond markets will remain closed and will resume trading on Monday. Futures markets typically pause or close early, often at 12:00 a.m. ET.
The only economic data we found was the UK Retail Sales report. The data surprised across the board but the market reaction was quite slow as it does not change anything for the BOE.
ECB policymakers Lane and Wunsch defended the rate hike decision last week, arguing that the ECB had not made a mistake by hiking while inflation was rising and uncertainty remained. Wunsch, in particular, acknowledged that easing geopolitical tensions involving Iran and slowing wage growth could bolster the argument that the ECB might be able to see off an energy-driven inflation spike. Still, he said last week’s decision was appropriate given the information available at the time.
In the US session, there is only the Canadian retail sales report which is not going to change anything for the BOC, so market reaction will likely be muted.
Have a great weekend!
