4 events to impact financial markets this week and why should traders care

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, and most European banks are closed too. Therefore, liquidity in financial markets is thin, with little or no volatility expected.

However, the week ahead is full of important economic and financial events that will move markets. Here are four events any trader should consider this week:

Australian inflation
ISM Manufacturing
European inflation
Non-Farm Payrolls

Australian CPI

Inflation still runs way above central banks’ target all over the world. Australia is no different, and this week, the CPI or Consumer Price Index is expected to rise to 6.4% YoY from 6.3% previously.

The Australian dollar was weak in May, but a higher inflation print should boost the case for a hawkish RBA statement at the next meeting. If inflation surprises to the upside, the local currency should benefit.

ISM Manufacturing

On Thursday, all eyes will be on the ISM Manufacturing data from the United States. The manufacturing sector is in contraction, but the jobs market remains resilient.

Should we see a bounce back closer to the 50 level, then optimism about the ability of the US economy to avoid a recession will rise.

European CPI

Unlike Australian inflation, European inflation is expected to decline to 6.3% from 7% previously. The data, expected on Thursday, will have huge implications for the upcoming ECB meeting and, thus, will move the euro.

Non-Farm Payrolls

Because next Friday is the first one of the month, traders know that this is the time for the US jobs report to be released. The expectations are that the US economy added 189k jobs in May, and the unemployment rate increased to 3.5%.