On Tuesday, we’re going to get the Bank of Japan and that is going to be one of the more interesting ones. Then, there is the Bank of Canada coming up on Wednesday followed by the European Central Bank on Thursday. As such, there will be plenty for traders to scrutinise in the days ahead after getting past the lackluster start to the week today.
In the case of the Bank of Japan, the Ishikawa earthquake has reaffirmed that we are unlikely to see any sudden change to policy settings just yet. Policymakers have alluded to the spring wage negotiations in March and April before taking their next steps and that will likely be the case once again this week.
The Bank of Canada meeting should be more of a non-event as the central bank is largely expected to keep interest rates unchanged and maintain the status quo. Similarly, the European Central Bank (ECB) is also widely expected to maintain their current communication and reaffirm a more data-dependent approach for now.
That being said, ECB president Lagarde’s press conference could offer up something for traders to work with in case there is any slip up in her messaging. For me, that will be the main risk factor outside of any surprises from the Bank of Japan itself.