The ECB will almost certainly keep rates unchanged on Thursday. It will be interesting to hear how the ECB views the LTRO repayment (normalisation or de facto tightening) and the strengthening of the euro.
The European Council will meet on 7-8 February with the aim to reach an agreement on the 2014-20 budget. They may not succeed yet.
ISM non-manufacturing is expected to decline slightly.
Global Update
The FOMC restated its easing bias and said that asset purchases will continue until it sees 'substantial improvement' in the labour market.
ECB's bank lending survey showed further credit tightening in the fourth quarter both for households and enterprises. Demand remained weak.
The repayment of 3Y LTRO announced Friday at noon was low this week - just EUR3.5bn, which helped to push rates down and stop EUR appreciation.
In Japan data suggest that the economy is returning to positive growth in the current quarter after a recession in H2 12.
To Read the Entire Report Please Click on the pdf File Below.