It was a very light session with no major data or news releases. Markets were also very quiet, with things expected to ease further during the North American session due to the US holiday. As a reminder, the US stock market and bond market will be closed and trading will resume on Monday. Futures markets typically stop or face early closings, often closing at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.
The only economic data we got was the UK retail sales report. The data surprised everyone by being higher but the market reaction was largely muted as it did not change anything for the Bank of England.
ECB policymakers Lean and Wun defended the decision to raise interest rates last week, saying the ECB did not make a mistake by raising interest rates while inflation was rising and uncertainty remained high. Funch, in particular, acknowledged that an easing of geopolitical tensions related to Iran and a moderation in wage growth could strengthen the argument that the ECB may have been able to look into higher energy-induced inflation. However, he stressed that last week’s decision was justified in light of the information available at the time.
In the US trading day, there is only the Canadian retail sales report which will not change anything for the Bank of Canada, so the market reaction will likely be weak.
Have a great weekend!
