Inflation data week. The most important event this week will be on Wednesday, when the US inflation will be announced. It is expected that the monthly price change in July reached 0.2 percent. and inflation will remain unchanged at 3 percent during the year.
Some indicators of inflation are still high, but wage growth has been falling for some time, and Fed Chair Mr. Powell at his latest press conference cheered the slowdown in service price growth in the second quarter. In the US, markets are expecting a rate cut of less than 1 percent this year, down from the peak of recession fears last week when as much as 1.25 percent was expected. point interest reduction. In the United Kingdom, the situation with inflation is more complicated, here service sector inflation is growing at 5 percent, while core inflation is 3.5 percent.
The past week was almost unchanged for western stocks. U.S. and European stocks edged higher on Friday, with Monday's fear-mongering gains and losses in stocks fading for the rest of the week. The VIX volatility index last closed at 20.4, nearly double the fear peak reached on Monday. So far, it seems that last week did not bring lasting changes, and if Wednesday's US inflation data does not scare, the markets may return to the stable stock growth seen in the first half of the year.
The Baltic stock exchanges recorded a fall last week. Shares in the region failed to bounce back from Monday's decline, with the OMXB index down 0.9 percent for the week. Monday's increase in trading activity was temporary, in the second half of the week trading turnover returned to the usual summer level of 1 million. euros. This week, the half-year financial reports of the largest listed companies in the Baltic States, Ignitis Group and LHV Bank, are expected, so this week may be a bit more active.
