Global Economy Week Ahead: Eurozone and U.S. Unemployment, India Rate Decision

This week's economic calendar features two unemployment readings that will be closely watched as central bankers in Europe and the U.S. aim to raise interest rates and shrink balance sheets even as they puzzle over weak inflation readings.

MONDAY: The European statistics agency releases its August unemployment figures. The eurozone's economic growth pickup this year has helped push down on a still high unemployment rate, but figures released by Eurostat are expected to show that stalled in August. The jobless rate is seen stabilizing at 9.1% for a third straight month. That would be unwelcome news for the European Central Bank as it prepares to consider a reduction in its bond-buying program at its October meeting. Policy makers are pinning their hopes for meeting their inflation target on a pickup in wages over coming years.

WEDNESDAY: The Reserve Bank of India releases a monetary policy statement, two months after the central bank cut its main lending rate to a more than six-year low, as inflation and economic growth slowed unexpectedly. Economists say they expect the central bank to cut by another quarter percentage point in the coming year.

THURSDAY: The U.S. Commerce Department releases its international trade data detailing the country's trade balances with key partners. The trade deficit in goods with China, Mexico and Canada has expanded through the first seven months of 2017, compared with the prior year. Damage to ports and oil refiners caused by Hurricane Harvey and related flooding could elevate August's reading.

The European Central Bank will release minutes from its Sept. 6-7 meeting. ECB President Mario Draghi signaled after that meeting that his bank could announce a plan to gradually end its bond-buying program in 2018.

FRIDAY: The U.S. Labor Department releases its September jobs report, after the country's unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% in August, adding less jobs than economists expected. Consumer spending was soft in August and U.S. inflation continued to show modest price growth across the economy. This trifecta highlights the Federal Reserve's conundrum over sluggish economic growth even as it looks to continue raising interest rates at a gradual pace. September's jobs report will be watched for signs that raising rates could constrain an already slow-growing economy.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2017 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)