Important Events This Week May 20-24

Last week was a busy one for the EU and North America, as Germany, the EU, US, and Canada made their respective announcements on their CPI or GDP data. This week, meanwhile, is a fairly quiet one throughout the world’s markets. This doesn’t mean, however, that there are no important announcements to report. So here are some of the most important events for the week of May 20-24:

Event: RBA Meeting’s Minutes – Australia

Date: May 21, 2013

Time: 12:30am (GMT)

What It Is About and Why It’s Important

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) meeting is published two weeks after the interest rate decision. This is important as this could give clues on whether the RBA would announce another rate cut soon after this month’s 25bps cut.

Event: Producer Price Index (YoY, Apr) – Germany

Date: May 21, 2013

Time: 6:00am (GMT)

What It Is About and Why It’s Important

Last week, Germany announced a lower CPI of 1.1% from last month’s 1.4%, versus analysts’ expectations of 1.3%. This week, it is set to announce its Producer Price Index (PPI), which is expected to give a bleaker outlook of the German economy. Previous figures were at 0.4%, which is seen to drop to 0.2%.

Event: Consumer Price Index/Core Consumer Price Index (YoY, Apr) – UK

Date: May 21, 2013

Time: 8:30am (GMT)

What It Is About and Why It’s Important

Following last week’s CPI announcement from Germany and the EU, the United Kingdom is set to announce its own data this week. The CPI is expected to drop slightly from 2.8% to 2.6%, while the Core CPI is also expected to slide from 2.4% to 2.3%.

Event: BoJ Interest Rate Decision – Japan

Date: May 22, 2013

Time: 3:00am (GMT)

What It Is About and Why It’s Important

All eyes will be on Japan during the middle of the week as it is set to announce its interest rate decision. Earlier this month, BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that rates might rise eventually once the inflation reaches 2%. So far, however, the rate has remained steady since the BoJ cut it from 0.30% to 0.10% in December 2008.

Event: GDP (QoQ, YoY Q1) – UK

Date: May 23, 2013

Time: 8:30am (GMT)

What It Is About and Why It’s Important

The UK will cap off the week’s announcements with its GDP figures. A certain level of improvement is expected in both QoQ and YoY numbers, from -0.3% to 0.3% and 0.2% to 0.6%, respectively.