The Week Ahead – Non Farm Payrolls, BoE and RBA Rate Decisions in Focus

As we enter the first week of August, a busy week is upon us with important economic events that might change the current trend.

Financial markets have concluded the recent updates as the Federal Reserve switched its rate hike outlook and economic growth, and the dovish sentiment has affected US dollar and commodities.

Here are the main economic events of the upcoming week:

US Non-Farm Payrolls

The crucial US non-farm payrolls will be released on Friday at 12:30 GMT. Expectations are for an increase of 183,000 this month following the better than expected data in June of 222,000 new jobs.

Investors will also focus on the employment rate after a decrease in the previous month to 4.3% from 4.4%. Moreover, investors will focus on the average hourly earnings that are expected to rise to 0.3% from 0.2% a month earlier.

A good reading can change the Fed rate hike plans after a dovish outlook in their last meetings and comments.

Eurozone CPI

The Eurozone will release its core inflation figures for July on Monday at 9:00 GMT. The core inflation rate is expected to remain steady at 1.1%, well below the ECB inflation forecast of 2%.

The Eurozone will also publish its second-quarter economic growth on Tuesday at 9:00 GMT. YoY GDP is expected to rise to 2.1% from previous of 1.9%. QoQ is expected to hold at 0.6%.

Bank of England Interest Rate Decision

The BoE will release its interest rate decision on Thursday at 11:00 GMT. Investors will pay close attention to the BoE governor Mark Carney press conference after the interest rate announcement.

Analysts expect the BoE to hold rates at record low, however, the previous meeting 5-3 vote and mixed economic signals make the meeting to be ‘expect the unexpected’.

Reserve Bank of Australia Interest Rate Decision

The reserve bank of Australia will announce its rate decision on Tuesday at 5:30 GMT. Analysts consensus is for the central bank to keep rates unchanged at 1.5%.

Investors will keep an eye on any comments from RBA members as they wish to predict whether the AUD will continue its big rally or a shift in trend is ahead of us.

Check out our real-time Economic Calendar