Global Economy Week Ahead: U.S. Durable Goods, Eurozone Confidence, U.K. Tax Plan

The week ahead will feature home-sales and durable-goods data in the U.S., as well as Federal Reserve meeting minutes; while in Europe, a reading on eurozone consumer confidence is due and the U.K. Treasury chief will present his latest tax plan.

TUESDAY: The National Association of Realtors reports existing-home sales for October. In September, sales of previously owned homes declined on an annual basis for the first time since July 2016, falling 1.5% from a year earlier. On a monthly basis, September existing-home sales edged up by 0.7%, an uptick largely due to a rebound in Houston home sales following a sharp drop in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect existing-home sales rose 0.4% in October.

WEDNESDAY: Rising consumer confidence has been one of the driving forces behind the strengthening of the eurozone's economic recovery during 2017, and that is expected to continue into November. The European Commission's measure of household sentiment is expected to come in at minus 0.9, its highest level since April 2001.

U.K. Treasury chief Philip Hammond presents his latest tax and spending plans in a twice-yearly budget statement to Parliament. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to offer a gloomy prognosis for public finances in Britain, after the official economic forecaster said feeble productivity in the U.K. is likely to weigh on growth and tax receipts in the years ahead. Mr. Hammond is under pressure from lawmakers in his own party to loosen a yearslong fiscal squeeze to support stretched families, but economists say he has little room for giveaways.

The U.S. Commerce Department releases October orders for durable goods. New orders for products designed to last at least three years rose a seasonally adjusted 2% in September from a month earlier, according to revised figures. The October report could offer fresh evidence that underlying business investment, which has shown a pickup this year, remains robust. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast durable goods orders rose 0.2% in October.

The Federal Reserve releases minutes for its Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting. Markets are expecting a December interest-rate increase, but one question is whether the minutes will offer any clues about the path for interest rates in 2018.

THURSDAY: The first measure of eurozone economic activity to become available for November is expected to show that the economy remains on course for its strongest year since 2007. IHS Markit's composite purchasing managers index is seen coming in near October's level, a sign that gross domestic product is likely to increase during the fourth quarter at roughly the same 2.5% annualized rate it did in the three months ending in September.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2017 15:14 ET (20:14 GMT)