Visi Money
TLDR: Major central bank policy meetings are scheduled for this week, including the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada, and the European Central Bank. The Bank of Japan is unlikely to make any sudden changes to policy settings due to the recent Ishikawa earthquake and the upcoming spring wage negotiations. The Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates unchanged, while the European Central Bank is likely to maintain its current communication and data-dependent approach. Traders will be monitoring ECB President Lagarde’s press conference for any potential market-moving statements.
Key Points:
- Major central bank policy meetings scheduled this week include the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, and European Central Bank.
- The Bank of Japan is unlikely to make any sudden changes to policy settings due to recent events and the upcoming wage negotiations.
- The Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
- The European Central Bank is likely to maintain its current communication and data-dependent approach.
- Traders will be watching ECB President Lagarde’s press conference for any potential market-moving statements.
It’s a slower start to the new week but expect things to pick up in the days ahead with major central bank policy meetings scheduled. On Tuesday, we’re going to get the Bank of Japan and that is going to be one of the more interesting ones. Then, there is the Bank of Canada coming up on Wednesday followed by the European Central Bank on Thursday. As such, there will be plenty for traders to scrutinise in the days ahead after getting past the lackluster start to the week today.
In the case of the Bank of Japan, the Ishikawa earthquake has reaffirmed that we are unlikely to see any sudden change to policy settings just yet. Policymakers have alluded to the spring wage negotiations in March and April before taking their next steps and that will likely be the case once again this week.
The Bank of Canada meeting should be more of a non-event as the central bank is largely expected to keep interest rates unchanged and maintain the status quo. The recent run of stronger Canadian data has been beneficial and helped to curb any dovish tilt in markets when it comes to the central bank.
Similarly, the European Central Bank (ECB) is also widely expected to maintain their current communication and reaffirm a more data-dependent approach for now. That being said, ECB president Lagarde’s press conference could offer up something for traders to work with in case there is any slip up in her messaging. For me, that will be the main risk factor outside of any surprises from the Bank of Japan itself.
