US: Broad set of figures due today – Rabobank

In the US, we get to see a broad set of figures and the market will pay a little more attention than usual on the monthly import and export price indices, in particular given the continued depreciation of the US dollar and the recent concerns about inflation, according to analysts at Rabobank.

Key Quotes

“We will also see the latest on housing, with releases on both permits to start building and actual housing starts. It doesn’t stop there, though, as the University of Michigan also releases the February estimate of consumer confidence, which is expected to have declined from 95.7 to 95.3, which would still be a very solid reading.”

“On a side note, inflation has taken the centre stage, so the focus of the market may in fact be on the survey’s consumer inflation expectations. Note here that the levels of this survey have been systematically ‘too anchored’ in recent years and that they don’t really respond to actual developments in financial markets, so it’s better to pay heed to marginal changes in the direction instead (ironically, this rigidity actually suggests that the Fed’s policy of price stability is credible).”