Week's main events (September 25 – September 29)

This week will be less eventful than the previous week, but there are still a few important economic events that investors should pay attention to. The main event this week will be the publication of data on the PCE index, which is on the US Federal Reserve’s list of monitored inflation indicators. With energy prices rising in recent months, inflationary pressures worldwide are starting to build again, just as central banks have done a lot of work and are at the end of their tightening cycle. Rising energy prices are not the Fed’s only cause for concern, however. Exceptionally high consumption levels have incentivized policymakers to keep the door open for further rate hikes. Therefore, good orders and CB consumer confidence data will be important to analyze. A potentially big concern for investors is a possible government shutdown, as Congress has no time to agree on a spending cut bill before midnight on September 30. In the Eurozone, inflation data will help determine whether rates will remain unchanged or rise further. Also, Australian inflation data for August may prompt the RBA to hike rates again if the core rate rises as forecast.