Due to a national holiday, this will be a short week in Hungary, but this does not mean life stops on Wednesday night globally. The macroeconomic data to be released in the coming days are not earth-shattering, so sentiment is likely to be affected primarily by comments by politicians and central bankers.
On Monday morning, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) will publish its preliminary balance sheet figures, the most important part of which will be the government’s ready cash stock (KESZ) which was heavily depleted by the end of 2017. Even before that, though, we’ll be able to learn about Chinese FDI.
On Tuesday, there is no key macro release in the pipeline, but we may want to keep an eye on the Government Debt Management Agency’s (ÁKK) auction of 3-month discount Treasury Bills, although the events tend to deliver little to no surprise. Inflation data for February are to be released overseas, though, and investors will definitely watch that closely, as it could have an impact on the EUR/USD exchange rate. Note that clocks in the U.S. were turned forward one hour on Sunday, hence from now on U.S. stock markets close at 9 P.M. Hungarian time.
The last working day for Hungarians this week is Wednesday when the stats office will publish revised industrial production and the latest construction output data. Due to the national holiday (15 March), the ÁKK has also brought forward its bond auction from Thursday. Meanwhile, key data are to be released in China; the latest CPI figures are due out in Germany in the morning and U.S. industrial production data are to be released in the afternoon.
Hungarian markets are to be closed for the remaining two days, there will be no official data release, either. As for the global scene, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, will publish inflation data for February on Friday, although the preliminary figures have already been released.
It may seem like a less exciting week at first sight, but you never know what’s going to be President Trump’s next move, i.e. he could have another key import tariff announcement up its sleeve that are prone to upset markets. The Federal Reserve’s 20 March meeting will also be interesting, and its officials may start to pave the way for that meeting already this week.
