5 Key Economic Events to Watch This Week

In the week ahead, investors will continue to focus on economic reports out of China, with Wednesday’s trade data in the spotlight. Thursday’s monetary policy meeting minutes from the Bank of England will also be in focus. Meanwhile, the U.S. is to release data on retail sales and producer prices as market players look for further indications on the strength of the economy and the future path of rate hikes.

1. Chinese trade data

China is to release December trade data during Asian hours on Wednesday. The report is expected to show that the country’s trade surplus narrowed to $53.0 billion last month from $54.1 billion in November.

Chinese exports for December are forecast to drop 8.0% from a year earlier, following a decline of 6.8% a month ago, while imports are expected to slump 11.5%, after falling 8.7% in November.

2. U.S. weekly oil supply data

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its closely-watched weekly report on oil supplies for the week ended January 8 at 15:30 GMT, or 10:30AM ET, Wednesday.

Last week, the weekly petroleum report showed that crude oil inventories decreased by 5.1 million barrels, while gasoline inventories surged by 10.6 million barrels and distillate stockpiles rose by 6.3 million barrels. U.S. retail sales report

3.Bank of England "Super Thursday"

The Bank of England will release its rate decision and minutes of its Monetary Policy Committee meeting at 12:00 GMT, or 7:00AM ET, on Thursday.
Last month, the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-1 to keep rates on hold at a record low 0.5%. Most market players expect the BOE to begin slowly raising interest rates in mid-2016. U.S. PPI data

4. The Commerce Department will publish data on December retail sales at 13:30 GMT, or 8:30AM ET, Friday. The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales rose 0.1% last month, after gaining 0.2% in November. Core sales are forecast to increase 0.2%, after rising 0.4% a month earlier.

5. Also at 8:30AM ET on Friday, the U.S. is to release data on producer price inflation. Producer prices are expected to fall 0.1% in December, after gaining 0.3% a month earlier, while core prices are forecast to inch up 0.1%, following a 0.3% increase in November.