Hot on the heels of the Federal Reserve, British, euro area and Australian central banks are lining up to meet next week.
Proof of a tighter jobs market and wage gains may fuel further bets on how aggressive the Fed will be - markets now anticipate roughly five quarter-point rate hikes by year-end.reporting on Feb. 1 and Feb. 3 respectively. But with rate-hike jitters gripping Wall Street, earnings may play second fiddle to the jobs data and Fed speak.TOBY MELVILLE/Reuters
The big question - one many central banks are grappling with - is whether a series of rate hikes now can curb inflation before price pressures trigger higher wage demands, and feed into generally higher price pressures. Comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde suggest inflation will drop back below its 2% target this year as pressures from high energy prices and supply bottlenecks ease.
The Reserve Bank of Australia meets Tuesday against the backdrop of the hottest consumer inflation since 2014 and strongest labour market since 2008, piling pressure on RBA Governor Philip Lowe to take action.