| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 07:00 | United Kingdom | PSNB, bln | February | 13.32 | -6.6 | -10.71 |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Current account, adjusted, bln | January | 38.4 | 34 | 35.4 |
CAD declined 0.1% against the US dollar, while market participants are preparing for the release of retail sales data. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Currency Index (DXY), which tracks the dynamics of the dollar against six currencies, rose by 0.09% to 103.91 and is preparing to record its first weekly increase in the last three weeks.
Statistics Canada will release the January retail sales figures at 12:30 GMT. Economists expect they will show the sales fell by 0.4% m/m after increasing by 2.5% m/m in December. Year-on-year, sales growth is projected to accelerate to 4% from 3.9% in December.
The euro declined by 0.05% against the US dollar. Since the beginning of the week, the euro has fallen by 0.35% after a strong two-week run following Germany's massive spending plans. Meanwhile, today Germany's upper house of parliament has passed a significant reform of the country's borrowing rules, alongside a 500-billion-euro fund aimed at revitalizing infrastructure and boosting Europe's largest economy. The constitutional amendment eases restrictions on government borrowing, allowing for extensive defense and security spending. The reform, approved with a two-thirds majority following the Bundestag’s earlier vote, was fast-tracked by Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz to avoid potential obstruction by fringe parties in the next legislative term. While financial markets reacted positively, with Germany’s DAX 30 reaching record highs and defense and construction sectors benefiting, experts caution that the economic impact will not be immediate. Bureaucratic hurdles and labor shortages could delay implementation, with substantial effects expected only by 2026 or 2027.