Global Economy Week Ahead: U.S., Eurozone Unemployment and Inflation

This week, both the U.S. and Europe will see key readings on their labor markets and inflation, while India will release its first-quarter gross-domestic-product figure.

TUESDAY: Though employment numbers have been strong this year, some inflation measures showed softness in March and April. Federal Reserve watchers will look for signs of firming prices in the U.S. Commerce Department's personal-consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect core PCE prices ticked up 0.1% in April, after a 0.1% decline the previous month.

WEDNESDAY: China's official May manufacturing purchasing managers index (release time is Tuesday night in the U.S.) is expected to edge down to around 51.0, from 51.2 in April. Growth in the world's second-largest economy is seen decelerating for the remainder of the year on a weakening property market and moves by Beijing to raise short-term interest rates and tighten regulation in a bid to slow the buildup of debt and stem financial risk.

India's first-quarter gross domestic product figures will indicate whether the world's fastest-growing large economy has sprung back from November's move to fight tax evasion and other crime by voiding large currency notes. The prior quarter's 7% growth marked a milder slowdown than many had expected.

A week ahead of its next policy meeting, the European Central Bank is expected to receive mixed news from the European Union's statistics agency. Economists expect Eurostat figures to show the eurozone's jobless rate edged down again in April, slowly eating into the slack that has kept a lid on wage growth and inflationary pressures. But Eurostat's flash estimate is expected to show the inflation rate fell back below the ECB's target in May as rises in services prices related to the Easter holiday were reversed.

THURSDAY: U.S. Federal Reserve governor Jerome Powell will deliver thoughts on the normalization of monetary policy at a breakfast meeting in New York. Mr. Powell's remarks come during a full week of Fed speeches, including one on Tuesday from Fed governor Lael Brainard.

FRIDAY: Economists will be watching wage growth figures when the U.S. Labor Department release the May jobs report. Hourly earnings growth appears to have lost momentum since the start of the year, which could cause Fed officials to approach raising interest rates with more caution. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect the unemployment rate remained at 4.4% in May, while U.S. employers added 185,000 jobs.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 28, 2017 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)