Looking Ahead: February 11 through February 15, 2013

Three central banks met and left their policy interest rates unchanged. The Reserve Bank of Australia left its key rate at 3.0 percent, the Bank of England kept its 0.5 percent rate while the European Central Bank’s rate remained at 0.75 percent as expected. Economic data centered on merchandise trade. China’s January trade data improved and showed both global and domestic recovery. Composite PMI indexes for the most part showed that activity was stabilizing and improving (except in France). The Bank of Japan meets this week — no policy change is anticipated until a new governor is selected. The Bank of England releases its quarterly Inflation Report. Many Asian markets will be closed to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Mainland China’s financial market will be shut for the entire week while the Hong Kong market will be closed from Monday through Wednesday.