The ECB decision and 4 other things you need to know to start your day – Markets

On Thursday, the European Central Bank will decide the course of monetary policy in the eurozone. The market is betting on the three benchmark rates rising by 25 basis points, but attention will be directed to any signals ECB President Christine Lagarde might give about the end of the rate hike cycle.

European stock markets reacted Thursday to the Federal Reserve’s decision not to change interest rates, after 15 months of increases. Although interest rates were not raised at Wednesday’s meeting, the The “plot point” — which shows how each central bank representative estimates changes in interest rates — points to further hikes later this year, as it estimates that the federal funds rate will be at an average value of 5.6% at the end of 2023.

Today, the Bank of Portugal (BdP) reveals how consumer credit is evolving. After new consumer credit operations reached €745.23 million in March, representing an increase of 21% compared to February and 4.2% compared to March last year, the new data will indicate a continuation of the increase. And on Thursday, the British Development Bank announced implied interest rates on housing loans.

This Thursday, Eurostat reveals the position of the Eurozone’s trade balance in April. In the previous month, the trade surplus in the region rose to 25.6 billion, after being contributed by The trade balance of the euro countries as a whole improved, and imports declined by 10%, while exports witnessed another increase.

Today, Thursday, fresh economic data came out from across the Atlantic. In addition to new weekly jobless claims – since it’s known every Thursday – it’s also today to see how retail sales and industrial production were in May.