A session under surveillance! Wednesday, Russia could face new sanctions after the macabre discoveries this weekend in Boutcha, in the suburbs of kyiv. The ambassadors of the 27 countries of the European Union must meet for this purpose, and decide on retaliatory measures targeting Russian oligarchs and energy products. According to a source close to Brussels, the EU could ban the import from Russia of wood, cement, chemicals, high-end food products (caviar, spirits) or even vodka, for a total value estimated at 5 billion euros. euros per year.
The announcements will be watched closely as inflation continues to break records. In Germany, it reached 7.3% over one year in March – the energy component increased by 40% -, almost 10% in Spain and 8.1% in Belgium. Overall, inflation in the euro zone stood at 7.5% in March, which should significantly penalize growth. Forecasts in this area for 2022 for the area have already been revised down by more than 1% since the start of the year. ” In Germany, after the IfW institute which had almost halved its growth forecast for 2022 (from 4% to 2,1%), a week ago, the sages, a group of economists who advise the government, just reduced their forecast to 1.8%, against 4.6% previously “recalls Thomas Giudici, co-head of bond management at Auris Gestion.
Chinese PMI falls
This strong inflation will still be reflected in the statistics, in particular the index of industrial producer prices in february in the euro area, which is influenced by energy costs. ” A shock to energy is immediately reflected in the PPI and the CPI, unless governments, as is the case in several countries, take measures to control or regulate retail prices. “, indicates the firm Oddo BHF. For once, the operators will also be looking at the figures for Russian inflation in March. Before that, they will have learned about the evolution of vsorders to german industry in february and statistics measuring the morale of purchasing managers in the services sector in China in March. The return of containment measures in the megacities of Shanghai and Shenzhen weighed on the confidence of economic agents. The Caixin/Markit PMI index fell to 42 in March, from 50.2 in February, well below the 50 threshold which separates the expansion phase from the contraction zone of activity.
On the other side of the Atlantic, inflation will occupy a full place in the Minutes from the last US Federal Reserve meeting (Fed), which will be released at 8 p.m. This document will make it possible to measure the balance of power within the institution between the supporters of an aggressive or more progressive normalization of monetary policy and in terms of quantitative tightening. For the time being, the market is expecting a 50 basis point rise in interest rates Fed-funds at future meetings. Ahead of the Fed minutes, investors will take notice of sweekly tocks of oil of the Department of Energy.
On the values front, Forsee Power, Eurobio Scientific and Fleury Michon publish their annual results.
PC