Euro area flash PMI data for May the focus of the session ahead
Happy Thursday, everyone! Hope you're all doing well as we look to get things going in the European morning session. Major currencies are still sitting in small ranges so far today but there's a general hint of softer risk sentiment with the yen and swissie leading gains while the likes of the aussie is lagging behind.
With the UK political situation in shambles, the pound continues to be pressured as May continues to hang on amid a Cabinet mutiny. Overnight, we saw House of Commons leader, Andrea Leadsom, resign in the latest form of protest against May's leadership.
Looking ahead, the euro will have PMI data to contend with as we also begin the European Parliamentary elections. The results of the latter will only be made known on Sunday so look out for potential risks into the weekend for both the euro and pound.
0600 GMT - Germany Q1 final GDP figures
Preliminary figures can be found here. Given that this is the final print, the reaction to the data here should be rather muted unless there are substantial revisions to initial estimates.
0630 GMT - Switzerland Q1 industrial output data
Prior (Q4) release can be found here. General indication of factory activity in the Swiss economy during the first quarter. Not a major release by any means.
0645 GMT - France May business, manufacturing confidence
Prior release can be found here. A gauge of sentiment towards French economic conditions, a minor data point.
0715 GMT - France May flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0730 GMT - Germany May flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0800 GMT - Eurozone May flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
The main focus of the economic calendar in Europe today. The readings here will help to reaffirm economic conditions in the euro area as we navigate through Q2. If within expectations, the data shouldn't offer traders much but will just continue to suggest slow/weak growth in the region in the second quarter. Otherwise, be on the look out for reaction to any surprises to the upside or downside in the data.
0800 GMT - Germany May Ifo business climate index
Prior release can be found here. A measure of business conditions and sentiment/expectations towards the German economy. Do be reminded the Ifo changed the indicator measurement to take into account of services data too as of April 2018. A minor data point.
1130 GMT - ECB releases the minutes of its April monetary policy meeting
The April meeting decision can be found here. The minutes are unlikely to offer us anything new or any fresh perspective on the current thinking of ECB members. They've had plenty of time to communicate that over the past month or so and we already know that they're still waiting on economic/inflation developments before reacting further.
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading!
