After the Bank of Canada rate announcement and labour market report last week, economic announcements out of Canada will take a bit of a breather this week. Still, there are a few key ones that markets must monitor. The big release this week in North America will be the US inflation rate. This will set the stage for the US Federal Reserve Board’s (Fed) rate announcement next week. Here’s what to watch for this week.

• Canada’s building permits will be released on Thursday. In June, building permits tumbled by 13.9%, driven by a 19.8% dive in multi-unit permits. This will be closely watched given the focus on increasing housing supply in Canada.
• The US inflation rate for August will be announced on Wednesday. The annual inflation rate fell to 2.9% in July, which was the lowest rate since March 2021. The Fed is hoping to see more downward pressure on inflation as it prepares to begin lowering interest rates.
• Attention will turn to the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday when it makes its interest-rate announcement. The ECB’s policy interest rate currently stands at 4.25% after one rate cut in 2024. The ECB is expected to keep dropping its policy interest rate to help kickstart economic activity.
• Other key economic announcements to monitor include China’s trade balance tonight, the UK’s unemployment rate on Tuesday, UK gross domestic product on Wednesday and European industrial production on Friday.
• North American earnings announcements will slow this week. Key earnings in Canada include Dollarama, Transcontinental and Empire Co. Notable earnings in the US include Oracle and Adobe.

Outside of Canada, there are several critical economic announcements to monitor. They will have an impact on financial markets both in their respective economies and in Canada. However, US inflation will likely steal the headlines with investors clamouring for a rate cut from the Fed.

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