There’s no doubt among forecasters that the European Central Bank will cut its deposit rate by 25 basis points at its Thursday announcement, a move that could take second billing in the week’s events should Wednesday’s US CPI report miss expectations. August’s CPI is expected to cool to 2.6 from 2.9 percent though the core rate is seen holding steady at 3.2 percent. Cooler-than-expected results could heat up talk of a 50-basis-point cut at the Federal Reserve’s September 18 announcement while higher-than-expected results would likely settle expectations at 25 points.
Chinese merchandise trade will open the week on Saturday local time with only a modest narrowing in the country’s surplus expected. Monthly UK GDP on Wednesday is expected to show marginal growth while US consumer sentiment on Friday, in what will be the first indication for September, is expected to remain flat.
