(RTTNews) - Thursday, a slew of statistical reports are due from European economies. Among the major reports, retail sales data from the United Kingdom and current account figures from Eurozone are expected to dominate the scene.

At 2:15 am ET, Switzerland’s Federal Customs Administration is set to release trade figures for September. The trade balance logged a CHF 1.72 billion surplus in the previous month.

The French statistical agency INSEE is scheduled to issue business confidence data for October at 2:45 am ET. The business sentiment index is expected to rise to 87 from 85 in the preceding month. Further, economists forecast the production outlook index to improve to minus 13 from minus 16.

At 3:00 am ET, Hungary’s Central Statistical Office is slated to release retail sales data for August. Year-on-year, retail sales are expected to drop 5.7%, slower than the 6.6% fall seen in the previous month.

At 3:30 am ET, the Swedish central bank is set to announce its interest rate decision. Last month, the Executive Board of the Riksbank had maintained the repo rate at a record low of 0.25%. The Swedish unemployment data for September is also due at 3:30 am ET. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to an unadjusted 8.3% from 8% in August.

In the meantime, Danish consumer sentiment data for October is due. Last month, consumer confidence showed a negative reading of 1.1.

At 4:00 am ET, the Eurozone current account data for August is due. In July, the current account balance had logged a surplus of EUR 6.6 billion, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

In the meantime, the Italian statistical office ISTAT is expected to issue August’s retail sales data. Economists expect sales to rise a seasonally adjusted 0.1% on month, compared to the 0.4% decrease in July. Annual decline for August is seen at an unadjusted 1.7%.

Half an hour later, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics is scheduled to release retail sales results for September. Sales are expected to rise 2.8% on year, faster than the 2.1% increase in the prior month. At the same time, retail sales are expected to rise 0.5% on a monthly basis.

Further, Slovenia’s consumer confidence survey results are also due at 4:30 am ET. In September, the consumer confidence index stood at 8.

At 5:00 am ET, the Icelandic wage statistics for September is due. On a yearly basis, the wage index had increased 2.2% in August.

Elsewhere, the Italian non EU trade data for September is due at the same time. In August, the non-EU trade balance registered a deficit of EUR 969 million.

An hour later, the Statistics Ireland is scheduled to release wholesale price data for September. Last month, prices had declined 2.1% annually and 0.3% on a monthly basis. At the same time, August’s external trade data is also due. A trade surplus of EUR 3.2 billion was recorded in July.

At 8:00 am ET, the Polish central bank is slated to issue the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held on September 29 and 30. At the end of its two-day rate setting meeting, the central bank had retained its key interest rate at 3.50%.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Forex, Releases, Switzerland.

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