The Week Ahead: 5 Things to Watch on the Economic Calendar

After a historic week in which Republican Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, investors will get back to the business of watching economic data for fresh indications on the health of the economy, with Friday's advanced reading for U.S. growth in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, in the U.K., market players will pay close attention to a first estimate of U.K. fourth quarter GDP for further signals on the continued effect that the Brexit decision is having on the economy.
In the euro zone, traders will await flash survey data on euro zone business activity for fresh clues on the health of the region’s manufacturing and services sector.
1. Flash Euro Zone PMIs for January
The euro zone is to publish preliminary data on manufacturing and service sector activity for January at 09:00GMT (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 08:00GMT and 08:30GMT respectively.
2. U.K. Preliminary Q4 GDP Figures
The Office for National Statistics is to produce preliminary data on U.K. economic growth for the fourth quarter at 09:30GMT (4:30AM ET) on Thursday.
The report is forecast to reveal the economy grew 0.5% in the September-December quarter, after expanding 0.6% in the preceding quarter, confirming that the British economy remains on a solid footing.
3. U.S. Advanced 4th Quarter Growth Data
The U.S. is to release preliminary figures on fourth quarter economic growth at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT) Friday. The data is expected to show that the economy expanded at a healthy 2.2% annual rate in the final three months of 2016, easing from growth of 3.5% in the third quarter.
Besides the GDP report, this week's calendar also features U.S. data on existing home sales on Tuesday, initial jobless claims and new home sales on Thursday, followed by durable goods orders and revised consumer sentiment on Friday.

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