The June 6 week has a fairly sparse economic data calendar for the US. As a result, the most important piece of information about the economic is likely to be the Fed's compilation of anecdotal evidence about conditions in the 12 District Bank regions, the so-called Beige Book on Wednesday. The last three editions have shown that expansion continues across all 12 Districts, but that may not be the case for the six week period from mid-April through the end of May. Several parts of the country have suffered devastating weather impacts and seen localized destruction. As a result, the assessment of conditions in some Districts may be less positive. We expect the New York Fed will compile the next issue of the report. This will also be a busy week for central bank rate announcements, as well as one in which the public engagement calendar for the Fed is reasonably full. Among the hard data releases, the April report on international trade on Thursday will likely have the most impact. It will provide the first look at imports and exports for the second quarter 2011, and help wrap up any expected revisions to the first quarter estimate of GDP. Imports from Japan are likely to be slower as supply chains were disrupted after the March earthquake. Higher oil prices may be offset by lower volume for crude imports.
Four major central banks have routine monetary policy announcements on the calendar this week. No change in policy is expected from any of the Banks, but some may shift more explicitly towards a tightening bias as signs of inflation persist. The Reserve Bank of Australia will publish its statement in the overnight hours of Monday-Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand's statement will be...Read more
