Economy Week Ahead: Inflation, ECB, Jobless Claims
07 March 2021 - 8:29PM
Dow Jones News
By WSJ Staff
Inflation readings highlight a relatively light week for
economic data.
Wednesday
China's consumer-price index deflation likely persisted in
February as food supplies stabilized and costs eased. Economists
surveyed by The Wall Street Journal are forecasting CPI contracted
0.4% from a year earlier. Factory-gate prices could be another
story. With surging of commodity costs, the country's
producer-price index is forecast to rise 1.4% from the same period
last year, compared with a 0.3% increase in January.
Rising gasoline costs are expected to boost overall U.S.
consumer prices for February. Core prices, which exclude volatile
food and energy components, will likely remain tame while the
economy is still dealing with fallout from Covid-19. But a hefty
dose of fiscal stimulus and expectations the country will soon
emerge from the pandemic have many economists forecasting at least
a temporary bout of inflationary pressure later this year.
Thursday
The European Central Bank issues a policy statement and new
economic forecasts. Rising yields on German and French bonds last
week sparked concern that corporate borrowing costs would climb,
hampering Europe's economic recovery. Now, some investors
anticipate the ECB will boost support to prevent financing
conditions from tightening, though economists are expecting verbal
reassurance rather than actual changes to monetary policy
Thursday.
U.S. jobless claims started trending lower toward the end of
last month, which is welcome. But the overall figure has remained
elevated, suggesting a high level of layoffs a year into the
pandemic. Those trends are expected to have continued in the first
week of March, with applications for unemployment benefits falling
but still holding at a level that indicates significant
labor-market dislocation.
Friday
The University of Michigan's preliminary reading on consumer
sentiment for March could show an uptick in confidence amid rising
vaccinations, job gains and improving incomes. It is also likely to
highlight a sharp partisan split, with Republicans much more
pessimistic than Democrats about the outlook since the
election.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 07, 2021 15:14 ET (20:14 GMT)
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