The United States
US Federal Reserve minutes due tonight
This evening, Swedish time, the focus of attention among macroeconomists will be on the newly-published minutes of the Fed’s last monetary policy meeting. The US central bank delivered a 0.75 percentage point key interest rate hike on July 27; although the minutes of the meeting may well look hawkish, the question is whether last week’s US inflation figures (an 8.5% year-on-year July increase in the consumer price index, down from 9.1% in June) may pave the way for a rate hike of only 0.50, instead of 0.75 points, at the Fed’s next scheduled meeting in late September.
The Nordic countries
Norges Bank policy announcement tomorrow
Another macroeconomic high point this week occurs on Thursday, August 18, when Norway’s central bank delivers its next monetary policy announcement. Although Norges Bank signalled slightly more cautious key interest rate hikes in its July policy announcement, most analysts have adjusted their key rate expectations upward. After the latest Norwegian inflation figure (CPI rose 6.8% year-on-year in July, up from 6.3% in June), we agree with the consensus view that Norges Bank will raise its key rate by 0.50 points.