By Kasra Kangarloo

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The week ahead will feature a slew of smaller
releases, with consumer sentiment, inflation and trade data filling out
the end of the week.

The U.S. trade balance for February, to be released Thursday at
8:30 a.m. ET, has widened considerably in the last four months, posting
its highest level since 2008 in the January report. The higher deficit
was largely due to a sharp increase in imports, as exports have
continued to expand apace.

While this month’s figure is expected to slightly contract, another
upside surprise could have negative implications for first quarter GDP.

March inflation data, which includes the Producer Price Index, to
be released Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the Consumer Price Index, out
at Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, are expected to rise off the jump in energy
prices over the month. The more marginal import and export prices report
will also be released Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET and is expected to show
a similar trend.

The University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment survey
for April will be released Friday at 9:55 a.m. ET and is expected to
post a slight increase. Consumer confidence data has been somewhat
choppy in the last couple months, caught between conflicting signals of
improving jobs numbers and rising gas prices.

Initial jobless claims — Thursday 08.30 a.m. ET — are also
expected to remain in the mid-300,000 range, a level that is consistent
with strong job creation. The latest report showed no sign of momentum
loss in employment, with claims posting the lowest level in nearly four
years at 357,000.

The Federal Reserve at 14:00 ET Wednesday will release its Beige
Book report on the state of the economy, which will likely reiterate
opinions from the latest statements by the Federal Open Market
Committee, namely that the economy is improving moderately and that
while the unemployment rate is improving it remains elevated.

Other releases during the week include the employment trends index
Monday at 10:00 a.m. ET, the NFIB small business optimism index Tuesday
at 7:30 a.m. ET, wholesale inventories Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. ET, JOLTs
job openings Tuesday at 10:00 a.m., the MBA’s mortgage applications
index Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. ET and the March Treasury budget Wednesday
at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Below is a list of appearances by other Fed officials in the week
ahead:

April 9, 6:00 p.m. ET, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks
at three-day Atlanta conference on financial reform entitled “Financial
Reform: The Devil’s in the Details.”

April 10, 12:30 p.m. ET, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President
Richard Fisher speaks to the University of Oklahoma on the economy and
too-big-to-fail banks.

April 10, 12:45 p.m. ET, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis
Lockhart speaks at three-day Atlanta conference on financial reform.

April 10, 2:30 p.m. ET, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President
Narayana Kocherlakota speaks to the Southern Minnesota Initiative
Foundation.

April 11, 8:20 a.m. ET, the Atlanta Fed’s Lockhart makes welcome
remarks at three-day Atlanta conference on financial reform.

April 11, 9:30 a.m. ET, Kansas City Federal Reserve President
Esther George speaks to Hyman P. Minsky Conference on deficits and
financial instability.

April 11, 10:30 a.m. ET, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric
Rosengren speaks at three-day Atlanta conference on financial reform.

April 11, 5:00 p.m. ET, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James
Bullard gives welcome remarks at Homer Jones Memorial Lecture.

April 11, 5:30 p.m. ET, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen
speaks at dinner meeting of Money Marketeers of New York University.

April 12, 9:00 a.m. ET, Atlanta Fed’s Lockhart moderates panel
discussion on U.S.-Mexican relations in Georgia.

April 12, 12:30 p.m. ET, Philadelphia Federal Reserve President
Charles Plosser speaks on economic outlook to the National Economists
Club in Washington, D.C.

April 12, 1:00 p.m. ET, Minneapolis Fed’s Kocherlakota speaks to
White Bear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

April 12, 3:30 p.m. ET, Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom-Raskin
speaks on “The State of the Economy” at San Francisco Business and
Community Leaders Luncheon.

–Kasra Kangarloo is a reporter for Need to Know News

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: M$$FI$,M$U$$$,MAUDS$]