FILE PHOTO: Banknotes of Euro, Hong Kong dollar, U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, GB pound and Chinese 100 yuan are seen in this picture illustration, in Beijing, China, January 21, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo
August 12, 2021
LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. Federal Reserve minutes, an expected New Zealand rate hike and the latest easing of self-isolation rules in Britain – here’s a quick look ahead to next week’s top economic events and themes to be covered by Reuters bureaus.
UNITED STATES
U.S. retail sales are seen easing after June’s upside surprise with many Americans still flush with cash after the repeated rounds of government stimulus payments.
Supply shortages are keeping a lid on new motor vehicle sales, so keep an eye on other categories such as restaurants, apparel stores and gas stations to make up the slack.
On Wednesday the Fed releases the readout of its July 27-28 meeting, when officials declared the recovery intact despite the rise of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Since then, a hot employment report has spurred a number of policymakers to ramp up talk of an earlier-than-expected start to tapering the Fed’s monthly bond purchases. But not all agree and the minutes should shed light on disagreements within the Federal Open Market Committee on the timing of that process.
EUROPE
Updated Q2 eurozone GDP figures on Tuesday are seen showing solid quarter-on-quarter growth around 2%, with inflation data Wednesday expected to show year-on-year price rises of 2.2%.
In England, Monday marks the day when double-vaccinated adults will no longer have to isolate when a close contact gets COVID-19 – a rule that has been creating staff headaches for many businesses as workers are forced into self-isolation.
The Norwegian central bank announces its latest thinking on interest rates on Thursday. So far, the bank has said it will likely hike rates from zero in September. Watch out for any signs of changes to that timing.
ASIA
Chinese economic indicators are expected to show growth in retail sales, factory output and investment continuing to slow in July, fuelling worries that the recovery is flagging.
And New Zealand is expected on Wednesday to be among the first of the world’s advanced economies to raise interest rates in the pandemic era as its recovery continues to run red-hot.
(Compiled by Mark John; additional reporting by Dan Burns in Washington and Sam Holmes in Sydney;editing by Jonathan Oatis)
