The week ahead will stand out as the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan hold their monetary policy meetings.

Both the central bank meetings will gain attention especially after investors expect to see hawkish undertones.

The BoJ previous announced that it would be tapering its long term dated bonds.

The ECB’s meeting minutes for December showed that officials were preparing for the central bank to change its language on forward guidance as it prepares the markets towards policy normalization.

ECB and the BoJ meetings likely to stand out this week

The central bank meetings from the Bank of Japan and the European central bank will stand out this week as investors gear up for a shift in the respective central bank’s monetary policies.

The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting starts the week off as investors expect to see hawkish forward guidance.

This comes amid the BoJ announcing that it was reducing its bond purchases on the longer term bonds two weeks ago. The news saw the Japanese yen strengthening strongly as a result.

However, officials are likely to disappoint with the most recent reports suggesting that the BoJ will continue to maintain the current course of monetary policy.

The European Central Bank will be meeting later in the week on Thursday.

Following the release of the December meeting minutes, investors will be looking for a shift in the ECB’s forward guidance.