Week ahead: FOMC minutes, China PMI in focus
The coming week will see many traders return to their terminals and swamped with work, as they try to get up to speed with events globally over the previous fortnight and gear-up for a week full of potentially market-moving data and events.
Arguably, the most interesting release will come on Wednesday, in the form of the minutes of the US central bank's last policy meeting and chair Janet Yellen's next-to-last.
Yet in terms of the potential to prompt an immediate market reaction, at the moment Caixin's monthly China factory sector purchasing managers' index, on Tuesday, is probably the release that should be watched most closely.
It will be preceded by the release of 'official' PMI readings for both manufacturing and services on Sunday, 31 December.
Next in line, the monthly US non-farm payrolls numbers due out on Friday, and especially the average hourly earnings data published alongside them, will also be closely watched.
Back in the UK, IHS Markit's factory sector PMI is due out on Tuesday, followed by another covering the services side of the economy on Thursday.
Also due to be published on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, are final readings on the euro area's manufacturing and services sectors.
Monday January 01
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Tuesday January 02
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Wednesday January 03
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Thursday January 04
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Friday January 05
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