What are the primary occasions for as we speak?

Today is going to be the busiest day of the week in terms of data releases. In the European session, the main highlight will be the Eurozone CPI report. In the American session, we get the Canadian GDP, the US Core PCE, the US Jobless Claims and the US Employment Cost Index.

We might get some short-term reactions, but overall the market is now waiting for the US election, so the choppy price action we’ve seen recently will likely persist until then.

10:00 GMT/06:00 ET – Eurozone October Flash CPI

The Eurozone Flash
CPI Y/Y is expected at 1.9% vs. 1.7% prior, while the Core CPI Y/Y is seen at
2.6% vs. 2.7% prior. The market’s pricing is already very dovish for the ECB,
so we will likely need a very soft report to see the market price in some more
easing.

A hot report
though will likely take off the table the 12% probability of a 50 bps cut in
December. We will also see the Eurozone Unemployment Rate which is expected to
remain unchanged at 6.4%.

12:30 GMT/08:30 ET – US September PCE

The US PCE Y/Y is
expected at 2.1% vs. 2.2% prior, while the M/M measure is seen at 0.2% vs. 0.1%
prior. The Core PCE Y/Y is expected at 2.6% vs. 2.7% prior, while the M/M
figure is seen at 0.3% vs. 0.1% prior.

Forecasters can
reliably estimate the PCE once the CPI and PPI are out, so the market already
knows what to expect. Besides, this report won’t change anything for the
Fed as they are going to cut by 25 bps at the November meeting no matter what.

The market’s
focus is now on the US election.

12:30 GMT/08:30 ET – US Jobless Claims

The US Jobless
Claims continues to be one of the most important releases to follow every week
as it’s a timelier indicator on the state of the labour market.

Initial Claims
remain inside the 200K-260K range created since 2022, while Continuing Claims
after an improvement in the last two months, spiked to the cycle highs in the
last couple of weeks due to distortions coming from hurricanes and strikes.

This week Initial
Claims are expected at 233K vs. 227K prior, while Continuing Claims are seen at
1880K vs. 1897K prior.

12:30 GMT/08:30 ET – US Q3 Employment Cost Index

The US Q3
Employment Cost Index (ECI) is expected at 0.9% vs. 0.9% prior. This is the
most comprehensive measure of labour costs, but unfortunately, it’s not as
timely as the Average Hourly Earnings data. The Fed though watches this
indicator closely.

Although wage
growth remains high by historical standards, it’s been easing for the past two
years, and it’s expected to continue to do so given the fall in the job quit
rate.

Central bank speakers:

• 09:00 GMT – ECB’s Panetta (dove – voter)
• 10:00 GMT/06:00 – ECB’s Escriva (dove – voter)
• 11:30 GMT/07:30 ET – ECB’s Knot (hawk – voter)