Tuesday, 15th March
French HICP (MoM) (Feb) Final
Italian CPI (MoM) (Feb) Final
German ZEW Current Conditions (Mar)
German ZEW Economic Sentiment (Mar)
Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment (Mar)
Wednesday, 16th March
Eurozone Core CPI (YoY) (Feb) Final
Eurozone CPI (MoM) (Feb) Final
Eurozone CPI (YoY) (Feb) Final
Thursday, 17th March
Eurozone Wages in euro zone (YoY) (Q4)
Eurozone Trade Balance (Jan)
ECB LTRO
Friday, 18th March
German PPI (MoM) (Feb)
The Majors
It was a mixed end to the week for the European majors on Friday, with a jump in yields pulling the majors into the red.
The CAC40 rose by 0.21% to make it five in a row, while the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 ending the day down by 0.46% and by 0.26% respectively.
Economic data from the Eurozone and the U.S failed to support the majors in spite of better-than-expected numbers.
A pickup in U.S Treasury yields through the European session pinned the majors back at the end of the week.
The Stats
It was a relatively quiet day on the economic calendar on Friday. Key stats included inflation figures from Germany and Spain and Eurozone industrial production numbers.
Inflation
In February, German consumer prices rose by 0.7%, which was in line with prelim figures. Consumer prices had risen by 0.8% in the month of January.
The annual rate of inflation picked up from 1.0% to 1.3%, which was also in line with prelim figures.
According to Destatis,
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Prices of goods (total) were up 1.0%, year-on-year.
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Energy prices rose by 0.3% after having fallen by 2.3% in January.
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Rising crude oil prices and a CO2 charge introduced in January contributed to the uptick. Motor fuel prices rose by 2.4%.
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Food prices increased by 1.4%, slowing from a 2.2% rise in January.
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Excluding energy, the rate of inflation would have been 1.4%.
For Spain, inflation figures were also in line with prelim. Inflation stalled in February, with the harmonized index for consumer prices falling by 0.1%, year-on-year.
Industrial Production
Industrial production across the Eurozone rose by 0.8% in January, reversing an upwardly revised 0.1% decline from December.
According to Eurostat,
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Production of durable consumer goods rose by 0.8% and non-durable consumer goods by 0.6%.
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Energy and capital goods production increased both increased by 0.4%, with the production of intermediate goods rising by 0.3%.
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By member state, Luxembourg (+3.8%), Greece and France (+3.4%) and Belgium (+3.1%) recorded the largest increases.
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Estonia and Latvia (both -1.5%), Portugal (-1.3%), and Spain (-0.7%) registered the largest declines.
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Compared with January 2020, industrial production increased by 0.1%.
From the U.S
Wholesale inflation and consumer sentiment figures were in focus late in the European session.
In February, the core producer price index rose by 0.2%, following a 1.2% increase in January. The producer price index increased by 0.5%, following a 1.3% rise in January.
Consumer sentiment was on the rise in March, according to prelim figures, however.
The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose from 76.8 to 83.0, with the Expectations Index rising from 70.7 to 77.5. Both came in ahead of forecasts.
The Market Movers
For the DAX: It was a mixed day for the auto sector on Friday. Continental rose by 1.15% to buck the trend. BMW and Volkswagen fell by 0.33% and by 0.40%, with Daimler ending the day down by 0.14%.
It was a bullish day for the banks, however. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank rose by 1.69% and by 1.73% respectively.
From the CAC, it was a bullish day for the banks. BNP Paribas and Soc Gen rose by 1.43% and by 1.78% respectively, with Credit Agricole gaining 1.03%.
It was also a bullish day for the French auto sector. Stellantis NV rose by 1.36%, with Renault ending the day with a modest 0.14% gain.
Air France-KLM and Airbus SE ended the day up by 0.23% and by 0.88% respectively.
On the VIX Index
It was a 4th consecutive day in the red for the VIX on Friday, marking a 5th day in the red from 6 sessions. Following a 2.88% fall on Thursday, the VIX declined by 5.57% to end the day at 20.69.
The NASDAQ fell by 0.59%, while the Dow and the S&P500 rose 0.90% and 0.10% respectively.
The Day Ahead
It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the European economic calendar. There are no material stats from the Eurozone to provide the majors with direction.
The lack of stats will leave the majors in the hands of economic data from China ahead of the European open and yields.
From China, industrial production, fixed asset investments, and retail sales figures will set the tone.
Late in the day, NY Empire State Manufacturing Index figures will draw attention.
Away from the economic calendar, COVID-19 lockdown news will also need considering.
The Futures
In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the Dow Mini was up by 81 points, with the DAX up by 53 points.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.
This article was originally posted on FX Empire