Any further increase in oil prices towards $100 a barrel is going to be unwelcome news for central bankers battling rising consumer prices, with last week’s hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer price report continuing to reverberate through markets.
Later in the day, traders will get a sense of the strength of the U.S. consumer with retail sales data for last month due.
A slew of Federal Reserve speakers are also on the docket this week, with comments from Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday coming under the spotlight.
With U.S. inflation having topped forecasts for three successive months, it’s hard to imagine the world’s most powerful central banker sticking to his same, somewhat-dovish tone from last month.
While the geopolitical backdrop is likely to set the tone for the week, there are also plenty of economic events for traders to take cues from, from China’s first-quarter economic growth figures to British consumer prices.
The U.S. earnings season is also underway, though that got off to a lacklustre start after reports from the three big banks – JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo and Citigroup – disappointed investors and sent Wall Street lower.
