Global Economy Week Ahead: U.S., Eurozone Unemployment and Inflation
29 May 2017 - 05:29AM
Dow Jones News
By WSJ Staff
This week, both the U.S. and Europe will see key readings on
their labor markets and inflation, while India will release its
first-quarter gross-domestic-product figure.
TUESDAY: Though employment numbers have been strong this year,
some inflation measures showed softness in March and April. Federal
Reserve watchers will look for signs of firming prices in the U.S.
Commerce Department's personal-consumption expenditures price
index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Economists
surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect core PCE prices ticked
up 0.1% in April, after a 0.1% decline the previous month.
WEDNESDAY: China's official May manufacturing purchasing
managers index (release time is Tuesday night in the U.S.) is
expected to edge down to around 51.0, from 51.2 in April. Growth in
the world's second-largest economy is seen decelerating for the
remainder of the year on a weakening property market and moves by
Beijing to raise short-term interest rates and tighten regulation
in a bid to slow the buildup of debt and stem financial risk.
India's first-quarter gross domestic product figures will
indicate whether the world's fastest-growing large economy has
sprung back from November's move to fight tax evasion and other
crime by voiding large currency notes. The prior quarter's 7%
growth marked a milder slowdown than many had expected.
A week ahead of its next policy meeting, the European Central
Bank is expected to receive mixed news from the European Union's
statistics agency. Economists expect Eurostat figures to show the
eurozone's jobless rate edged down again in April, slowly eating
into the slack that has kept a lid on wage growth and inflationary
pressures. But Eurostat's flash estimate is expected to show the
inflation rate fell back below the ECB's target in May as rises in
services prices related to the Easter holiday were reversed.
THURSDAY: U.S. Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell will
deliver thoughts on the normalization of monetary policy at a
breakfast meeting in New York. Mr. Powell's remarks come during a
full week of Fed speeches, including one on Tuesday from Fed
governor Lael Brainard.
FRIDAY: Economists will be watching wage growth figures when the
U.S. Labor Department release the May jobs report. Hourly earnings
growth appears to have lost momentum since the start of the year,
which could cause Fed officials to approach raising interest rates
with more caution. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal
expect the unemployment rate remained at 4.4% in May, while U.S.
employers added 185,000 jobs.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 28, 2017 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)
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