Today the market will look for hints on the future path of US monetary policy when Fed's William C. Dudley (voter, dovish) and John C. Williams (neutral, non-voter) speak.
Preliminary GDP figures for the fourth quarter for the euro area as well as Germany and Italy are due today. We estimate growth increased marginally to 0.4% q/q in the euro area compared with 0.3% q/q for the third quarter. Regionally, we expect Germany to be the strongest with a growth rate of 0.5% q/q.
We look for clues about whether US consumption growth has slowed and keep an eye on the retail sales figures for January and the preliminary University of Michigan consumer confidence survey for February. In January, consumers stayed optimistic despite the financial turmoil and weaker economic data.
In Norway, Q4 manufacturing orders could attract some attention today.
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