Euro area PMI data to overshadow Mario Draghi's swansong
Good day, everyone! Hope you're all doing well as we look to get into the European morning session ahead. It's been a steadier start to the day as markets continue to trudge along ahead of the ECB meeting and US VP Mike Pence's speech later.
It will be Mario Dragi's final meeting as ECB president but expect the event to be a subdued one with the October euro area PMI data to potentially provide more reaction in the euro than his "farewell" press conference.
0715 GMT - France October flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0730 GMT - Germany October flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0800 GMT - Eurozone October flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
Expectation is for the data to show minor improvement relative to September. While that would be welcome news, it hardly is convincing of any major turnaround as economic sentiment continues to weaken further in the big picture. As such, any disappointment - especially in Germany - will see the euro dragged lower on the release.
0830 GMT - UK Finance September mortgage approvals
Prior decision can be found here. The data measures only a proportion of the demand in the UK housing market - those which are approved by High Street Banks in the UK. A general read of credit conditions in the UK, a minor data point at the moment.
1145 GMT - ECB October monetary policy decision
The September meeting decision can be found here. After the backlash among the ranks within the governing council on the stimulus package, don't expect anything out of the ECB today. This will very much be a non-event.
1230 GMT - ECB president Draghi press conference
Draghi is expected to stay professional and reiterate all of the same things that we have heard last month but expect the Q&A session to center around his time at the central bank as he looks to mark his departure.
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading!
