European Economic News Preview: ECB Monetary Policy Announcement Due

The monetary policy decision from the European Central Bank is the top event due on Thursday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

The ECB is widely expected to keep its interest rates unchanged and also to retain its hawkish bias. The announcement is due at 8.15 AM ET.

At the September meeting, the ECB had raised its refi rate by 25 basis points to 4.50 percent. The bank has raised rates by a cumulative 400 basis points with hikes in every policy session of the current tightening cycle that began in July last year.

Following the announcement of monetary policy decision, ECB President Christine Lagarde holds press conference in Athens, Greece. Other major economic reports due on Thursday are UK Distributive Trades survey results and quarterly unemployment data from Spain.

At 3.00 am ET, Spain's statistical office INE publishes unemployment rate for the third quarter. The jobless rate is forecast to fall to 11.5 percent from 11.6 percent in the second quarter.

At 6.00 am ET, the Confederation of British Industry releases monthly Distributive Trades survey results. The retail sales balance is forecast to fall to -16 percent in October from -14 percent in September.