The US announces PPI inflation data for February

At 19:30 on 18/03, the US will announce the Producer Price Index (PPI) - a measure of inflation at the production level. This is important data that helps evaluate cost pressures in the supply chain and is often seen as an early signal for consumer inflation.

According to market forecasts:

  • PPI YoY: expected to reach 3.2%, up from 2.9% of the previous period

  • Core PPI YoY: expected 3.7%, higher than the previous 3.6%

If PPI is higher than expected, this indicates that inflationary pressure remains strong, which may cause the market to worry that monetary policy will remain tight for a longer period. Conversely, lower-than-expected data will help reinforce expectations for easing in the near future.

FED announces the interest rate decision for March

The focus of the week will occur at 1:00 AM on March 19, when the Federal Reserve announces the interest rate decision in the March FOMC meeting.

According to market expectations, the FED is likely to maintain the current interest rate level, rather than immediately cutting it this month. What investors are most concerned about is not only the interest rate decision but also:

  • New economic forecast from the FED

  • Dot plot (interest rate forecast chart)

  • The message from Chairman Jerome Powell during the press conference

Signals about the timing of the start of the interest rate cut cycle will have a strong impact on market sentiment, especially for risk assets like technology stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Major central banks announcing monetary policies

Alongside the FED meeting, many major central banks around the world will also announce interest rate decisions over the two days of March 18-19, including:

  • Bank of Canada

  • Bank of Japan

  • Bank of England

  • European Central Bank

These decisions will reflect the monetary policy views of each major economy in the context of global inflation still not fully stabilized.

In particular, the market is paying attention to the possibility of the Bank of Japan continuing to adjust monetary policy after many years of maintaining extremely low interest rates, while the European Central Bank and Bank of England are still considering the right time to start the easing cycle.

In the context of global liquidity still playing a decisive role in the long-term trends of the market, this week is seen as one of the important moments for investors to monitor signals from the macro economy before making the next trading strategy.