Investing.com - The economic calendar for upcoming week is less busy after last week saw several key economic data releases. The main events this week are the publication of the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April meeting and data on U.S. home sales. Economy watchers will also be focusing on manufacturing data from China and the euro zone. Here are some key events to watch:
Federal Reserve minutes
The Fed is to publish the minutes from its April 29-30 meeting on Wednesday. There was no press conference after the most recent monetary policy meeting, and the rate statement was by and large unchanged from the previous release. The minutes are expected to indicate that the unwinding of the bank’s stimulus program will proceed on its current timetable.
Fed speakers
Fed Chair Janet Yellen is to deliver the commencement address at New York University on Wednesday. Other Fed speakers this week include Richard Fischer (Dallas) on Monday, Charles Plosser (Philadelphia) and William Dudley (New York) on Tuesday, Narayana Kocherlakota (Minneapolis) and Dudley again on Wednesday; and Williams again on Thursday.
Global manufacturing data
China is to publish the preliminary reading of the HSBC manufacturing PMI on Thursday while the euro zone is also to publish its manufacturing PMI. The HSBC Chinese manufacturing PMI has remained in contraction territory since December 2013, fuelling fears over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy. Economy watchers are expecting an uptick to 48.4 this month from 48.1 in April. The euro zone manufacturing index is expected to pull back slightly from last month’s three-year highs.
US home sales
The U.S. is to release data on existing home sales on Thursday and a report on new home sales on Friday. Market expectations are for a pick-up in sales of both new and existing homes, while weak numbers would point to underlying weakness in the sector.
Bank of Japan monetary policy announcement
The BoJ is to announce its benchmark interest rate and publish its monetary policy statement on Wednesday. The BoJ will now have data on the impact of last month’s sales tax increase on the economy, which could prompt further monetary policy action by the bank.