Staff of Reuters Read for 4 minutes Reuters, July 8 – Here’s a short look ahead to next week’s main economic events and issues to be covered by Reuters correspondents, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to the US Congress, as well as the latest statistics on consumer sentiment in Europe and trade in China. UNITED STATESPowell will be grilled by the two primary committees entrusted with overseeing the US central bank on Wednesday and Thursday, as part of a semi-annual ritual. His most recent appearance was a low-key affair, but with inflation on the rise and the job situation still in shambles, he might find the environment a little less welcoming this time. Powell’s current term is set to expire in just over six months, and there has been no word on whether President Joe Biden will re-appoint him. The Q&A with the Senate Banking Committee, in particular, could reveal how he is viewed by a committee that must approve either his reappointment or replacement. Following the post-payrolls quiet, the data flow picks again next week, with inflation and consumer spending figures for June all on the docket. It begins on Tuesday with CPI and continues on Wednesday with PPI, both of which have recently posted multi-year high readings, and concludes on Friday with retail sales. EUROPE In Europe, where rising cases of the Delta coronavirus type are raising questions about whether existing limits on activity can be relaxed as previously anticipated, many of the most relevant measurements are still of the medical variety. If nothing unexpected happens, the final reading of June inflation on Friday is projected to stay around 2%. Thursday’s batch of IPSOS consumer mood readings from throughout Europe, as well as UK jobs and bank lending numbers the same day, could be more interesting. On the events front, euro zone finance ministers will meet with their American counterpart Janet Yellen on Monday to exchange ideas. The focus of the debate is expected to be on the economy, as well as banking and financial stability issues. ASIA The main event this week is the release of Chinese trade data for June, which should reveal how exporters are dealing with increased costs and transportation constraints. Following that, two of the region’s most hawkish central banks are highlighted. New Zealand policymakers are anticipated to leave their settings intact on Wednesday, but there is rising speculation that they may hike rates as soon as November, so there will be a lot of attention paid to comments and forward guidance. South Korea’s central bank is also anticipated to keep rates unchanged on Thursday, although consumer price pressures and a hot property market have fueled talk of a raise in August. As the pandemic base effects roll out, Thursday also contains the quarterly growth report from China, where Q2 GDP is expected to return to the high single-digit growth observed for much of the past decade. Nonetheless, there are rising fears about domestic spending slowing. Finally, the Bank of Japan is not likely to make any changes to its core policy settings on Friday, although it may lower growth expectations in light of new COVID cases and flesh out the bones of its green financing assistance. (Reuters bureaus contributed reporting; Mark John, Dan Burns, and Sam Holmes compiled the story; Simon Cameron-Moore edited it.) )/n
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