Central bank decisions in Britain, Switzerland and Norway are expected to provide more evidence that the global rate cutting dash is slowing to a crawl, while retail sales data from the United States and China will provide a consumer health check.
The Swiss National Bank kicked of rate cuts in March. Another cut on Thursday is seen as 50-50 after steady March inflation. Norway, in no rush to cut rates with core inflation around 4%, releases new economic projections. Australia’s central bank meets on Tuesday and is not expected to ease for some time.SALES REPORT
Consumer spending is an area of focus for Wall Street as investors seek to gauge the impact of higher interest rates on the economy. Data earlier this month showed the U.S. economy created far more jobs than expected in May and annual wage growth picked up again. Still, recent data continues to underscore the need for further stimulus from policymakers with the loan prime rate decision due on Thursday.
Cocoa has more than doubled in price this year, and is now costlier than many metals. Chocolate producers are passing on the burden to consumers or tweaking their products. Fresh production from countries outside of Africa such as Brazil and Ecuador will take time to come to the market.