Chairman Powell poised to speak about monetary policy

The IMF has recently published a report that forecasts a soft-landing for the European economy, highlighting a gradually declining inflation. The organisation’s deputy director, Helge Berger has nevertheless warned against an early easing of monetary policy by the ECB saying that policymakers need to ensure that inflation is indeed declining before any rate cut. On the other hand, Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel is of the view that discussions on rate cuts are premature and said that the last stage in bringing inflation within the 2% target will be the hardest one. Today, the economic calendar features the ECB economic bulletin and ECOFIN meetings. ECB President Lagarde is also due to deliver a speech at an event in Brussels. The fibre is currently trading at 1.0707.

Earlier today, data revealed that China’s annual CPI slipped by 0.2% in October, surpassing expectations of a 0.1% drop. The country’s National Statistics Bureau downplayed the argument about deflationary pressures stating that structural factors are responsible for the drop in prices and that the policy mix should be reviewed accordingly.

Yesterday, Fed chairman Powell lauded the central bank’s Research and Statistics division for its diligence in gathering data allowing the Fed to formulate monetary policy and forecast its stance in the face of challenges. Speaking at an event, Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker argued that the Fed took the right decision in holding interest rates steady at the beginning of the month. He also stated his inclination in favour of a pause in policy moves in the near term in order to allow a correction owing to past policy actions. Jerome Powell will be speaking about monetary policy at an event today. Initial as well as ongoing jobless claims and the US Department of Agriculture’s WASDE report are due today. The greenback was steady at 105.53 at the time of writing.