Japan’s CPI data in focus, market holidays across the globe

Next week’s market movers

• In a particularly light calendar week with market holidays across many G10 nations, the most noteworthy data release will probably be Japan’s CPI for November.
• In the US, pending home sales could confirm that the housing market remains on a solid footing, though we have some concerns over the future performance of home sales.

On Monday, markets will remain closed in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

On Tuesday, Japan will release its CPI data for November. Expectations are for the core rate to have risen somewhat, but to have remained in the negative territory, while no forecast is available for the headline print.

Our view is that the headline rate is also likely to rise and move further into the positive territory, given that the nation’s Tokyo CPI for the month surged.

Rising inflationary pressures are likely to be welcome news to the BoJ, which at its latest policy meeting took the sidelines and shifted to a more optimistic tone with regards to Japan’s economic outlook.

We hold the view that the BoJ is likely to keep its policy unchanged for some time, primarily due to the yen’s collapse following the US election.

A weaker yen raises the prices of imported products and thus, may exert upward pressure on the nation’s inflation rate in the coming months, making the Bank’s job of returning inflation to its target somewhat easier.

On Wednesday…

Check out FXGiants’s Full Market Analysis for the upcoming Holiday Seasons!

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