The Canadian Press
Rate-setters in many countries are about to hold their first policy meetings of 2020 - in Japan on Monday and Tuesday, Canada on Wednesday, Norway and the euro zone on Thursday. On Friday, China sets loan prime rates. In emerging markets, Indonesia and Malaysia bear watching on Wednesday - will they follow Turkey and South Africa by easing policy?
While signing the Phase 1 deal with China, Trump already griped at having to “pay for our money” in a swipe at the euro zone’s negative borrowing costs. He also blames the “too high” dollar for the huge U.S. current account deficit. A currency war risk therefore may not be too remote, especially in an election year. And remember, the Treasury already lists Switzerland, Germany, Italy and Ireland as suspected currency “manipulators” - all have trade surpluses with the United States.
Friday brings “flash PMIs” in many countries - advance readings of purchasing managers’ business activity indexes. While the euro zone figures will be scrutinised to get a measure of economic recovery, British PMIs will grab more attention, given they comprise the last key data release before the Bank of England’s Jan. 30 meeting.