| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01:30 | Australia | Retail Sales, M/M | April | 8.5% | -17.9% | -17.7% |
| 01:30 | Australia | Trade Balance | April | 10.44 | 7.5 | 8.8 |
| 06:30 | Switzerland | Consumer Price Index (MoM) | May | -0.4% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| 06:30 | Switzerland | Consumer Price Index (YoY) | May | -1.1% | -1.3% | -1.3% |
In today's Asian trading, the euro declined against the US dollar ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.
Many economists believe that ECB President Christine Lagarde will announce at today's meeting an expansion of the 750 billion Euro Pandemic Emergency Purchase program (PEPP), launched in March. Analysts expect an increase in the volume of the program by 500 billion euros. Thus, the volume of all asset repurchase programs this year will reach a record 1.6 trillion euros.
In addition to the actions of the ECB, the governments of the Euro zone countries are developing fiscal incentives to launch economic growth. The European Commission plans to allocate grants and loans of 750 billion euros, which will primarily be sent to the countries most affected by the pandemic.
The ECB has in recent months called on governments to lead efforts to support the economy. Lagarde is likely to again advocate for increased budget spending and provide guarantees of low borrowing costs.
The ICE Dollar index, which shows the value of the dollar against six major world currencies, rose by 0.27% relative to the previous day.