ECB Financial Stability Review And US Data Before Thanksgiving

 | Nov 25, 2020 03:40AM ET

Today we have a busy day in terms of economic data releases. Given that today is the last full trading day in the US before the country goes on to celebrate Thanksgiving, we will be getting a lot of data, which could increase volatility significantly. Also, a few hours before the US data, the ECB will be delivering its Financial Stability Review.h2 ECB Financial Stability Review/h2

The ECB will deliver its Financial Stability Review, in order show what it and other eurozone central banks think about the current state of the financial system. The report is aimed to promote awareness of the European financial industry and show the issues that surround it at the moment. In the previous review, which was delivered in May, the ECB stated that:

“The spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) triggered abrupt shifts in asset prices and led to an increase in financial system stress”.

“The coronavirus pandemic has affected virtually all aspects of economic activity, at times interacting with pre-existing financial vulnerabilities. Even if temporary, there will be a significant contraction in euro area economic activity this year”.

We do not expect the euro to react much to the report.

h2 US Data Dump/h2

Before the start of the US session, we will receive some economic data from the US. Initial and continuing jobless claims for the past week will be released. There is currently no forecast for the continuing jobless claims number, but initial one is believed to have improved slightly, going from 742k to 730k.

Also, the US will release its preliminary Q3 QoQ GDP figure, which is expected to have stayed the same as previous, at +33.1%. If so, the US Dollar could stay focused on the other US datasets, which will fall under the spotlight, and that’s the core and headline PCE rates for the month of October. There are no forecasts for the headline MoM and YoY PCE figures, however the core ones are believed to have ticked down by a tenth of a percent. The MOM number is expected to slide from +0.2% to +0.1% and the YoY one is believed to have fallen from +1.5% to +1.4%. Certainly, if the actual figures move even below the initial forecasts, this is not something that the Federal Reserve would like to see.

The Fed uses the PCE index, when making their monetary policy decisions. And given that the FOMC has set a target to bring inflation slightly above 2%, in order to have longer term inflation near the average of 2%. If the actual PCE figures come out below forecast, that might have a negative effect on USD.