Financial markets this week
The main highlight this week comes from central banks, where the European Central Bank will announce its latest rate decision on Thursday, followed by President Lagarde’s press conference. A change in the policy stance is unlikely according to consensus expectations. The priority of the ECB remains one of caution and is determined to avoid a premature tightening in financing conditions. Another hot topic in Europe is one of the German chancellery, with the Green party taking the initiative to nominate their first chancellor candidate today following their steep gains in the polls to the detriment of Merkel’s CDU/CSU slump, making September’s federal election even more central to politics in Europe. Covid developments is high on the agenda, as it remains one of the greatest risks that could throw the economic recovery off course. Cases continue to remain elevated despite the vaccine efforts, particularly in India. More people around the world were diagnosed with the coronavirus during the past seven days than any other week since the virus emerged, topping 5.2 million globally, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On the vaccine front, we are expecting that the...