In the US, retail sales and industrial production numbers for October are seen pointing to modest growth amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and a lack of government support. In addition, building permits and housing starts are set to rise further as the housing market continues to be supported by record low interest rates and increasing demand from people moving away from big cities due to the pandemic. Other important publications are existing home sales, foreign trade prices, NY Empire State Manufacturing Index, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, NAHB Housing Market Index, business inventories and overall capital flows.
On the corporate front, the third-quarter earnings season continues, with reports expected from Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, TJX, Nvidia and Vodafone.
Elsewhere in America, key data to follow include Canada inflation rate, retail trade, housing starts, home prices, manufacturing and wholesale sales, and ADP Employment Change; and third-quarter GDP figures for Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Across the Atlantic, the UK economic calendar is packed with key updates on consumer and producer prices data, retail sales, consumer confidence, CBI factory orders, and public sector net borrowing.
Elsewhere in Europe, a flash estimate of the Eurozone consumer confidence is likely to show a deterioration in morale to a six-month low as the region continues to battle against the second wave of coronavirus infections, while final consumer price data is expected to confirm the bloc remained in deflationary territory for the third month. Other key data includes Eurozone construction output; Germany producer prices; Italy final inflation rate; Spain and Italy trade balance; Turkey consumer survey and Switzerland foreign trade and industrial production. Central banks in Turkey, Hungary and Iceland will decide on monetary policy.
In Asia, the People's Bank of China will provide an update on its new loan prime rate (LPR) on Friday, which was left unchanged at 3.85 percent on October 20th. October updates to China’s economic data will also be in the spotlight, including industrial production, retail sales, unemployment rate, fixed asset investment and house price index.
It will be a busy week in Japan with the release of the preliminary reading of Q3 GDP, trade balance, inflation rate and September’s final reading of industrial production. Also, the Jibun Bank will be publishing flash PMIs for October. The Reserve Bank of Australia will be publishing the minutes from its latest monetary policy meeting. On the economic data front, important releases in Australia include employment figures, HIA new home sales, Westpac leading index, and October’s preliminary reading of retail sales.
Other highlights for the Asia-Pacific region include: Q3 GDP for Thailand; India wholesale prices; and trade balance for Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Central banks in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand will also be deciding on monetary policy.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held virtually next week with expectations that progress will be made on a common framework for dealing with the recent rise in indebtedness of the world’s poorest countries.