Five things to watch on the economic calendar this week

1. OPEC Meeting
Oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producing countries will meet in Vienna on Thursday to decide whether to extend their current production agreement beyond a June 30-deadline.

Most market analysts expect the oil cartel to extend output cuts for a further nine months until March 2018, instead of six months as previously expected.
There is also talk that OPEC is looking at the option of deepening current production cuts, but it is not clear whether there would be support for that.

2. Fed FOMC Meeting Minutes
The Federal Reserve will release minutes of its most recent policy meeting on Wednesday at 2:00PM ET (18:00GMT). In addition, a handful of Fed policymakers are due to make public appearances this week that may offer insight into the likelihood of higher interest rates in the months ahead.
Monday sees Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans make public appearances.
Kashkari and Harker are scheduled to deliver remarks again on Tuesday.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is on tap Wednesday.
Finally, on Thursday, Brainard and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are scheduled to deliver comments.

3. U.S. Revised 1st Quarter Growth Data
The U.S. is to release revised figures on first-quarter economic growth at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT) Friday. The data is expected to show that the economy grew at a 0.9% annual rate in the first three months of the year, upwardly revised from a preliminary estimate of 0.7%.
Besides the GDP report, this week's calendar also features U.S. data on new home sales, existing home sales, weekly jobless claims, consumer sentiment and durable goods orders.
Investors are likely to continue to fret over the latest headlines coming out of Washington for any new fallout from the Trump campaign investigation.

4. U.K. First Quarter GDP - Second Estimate
The Office for National Statistics is to produce a second estimate on U.K. first-quarter economic growth at 08:30GMT (4:30AM ET) on Thursday.
The report is forecast to confirm the economy grew 0.3% in the January-March quarter, underlining worries that Britain's economy is slowing just as it prepares to start negotiations to leave the European Union.

5. Flash Euro Zone PMIs for May
The euro zone is to publish preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity for May at 08:00GMT (4:00AM ET) on Tuesday, amid expectations for a modest decline.
Ahead of the euro zone PMI's, France and Germany will release their own PMI reports at 07:00GMT and 07:30GMT respectively.
The European Central Bank is likely to signal a move away from its ultra-easy monetary policy by September as economic performance improves and political risks recede, according to most market experts.

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Jr Trader Petar Milanov

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