March 29:

The week began with 2 major news:

• Money and Credit – February 2021 (UK): Net mortgage borrowing was £6.2 billion in February, the strongest since March 2016. Mortgage approvals for house purchases were 87,700 in February: while higher than in February 2020, they have fallen from a peak of 103,700 in November 2020. Individuals continued making net repayments of consumer credit in February (£1.2 billion).
• White House called for $3T in spending & $1T in tax hikes in the initial draft infrastructure proposal (USA): The initial draft infrastructure proposal circulated at the White House called for $3T in spending & $1T in tax hikes, per 3 sources familiar But this week, White House expected to push ~$4T in spending & as much as $3.5T in tax hikes

March 30:

The Conference Board US Consumer Confidence Index Surged in March (USA): The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® surged in March to its highest reading in a year, after a modest increase in February. The Index now stands at 109.7 (1985=100), up from 90.4 in February. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—climbed from 89.6 to 110.0.

March 31: 

1. ADP National Employment Report: Private Sector Employment Increased by 517,000 Jobs in March (USA): Private sector employment increased by 517,000 jobs from February to March according to the March ADP® National Employment ReportTM. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute® in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.
2. Gross domestic product by industry, January 2021 (CANADA): Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.7% in January, following 0.1% growth in December. This ninth consecutive monthly increase continued to offset the steepest drops on record in Canadian economic activity observed in March and April 2020. However, total economic activity was about 3% below the February level before the COVID-19 pandemic. Both goods-producing (+1.5%) and services-producing (+0.4%) industries were up in January as the 20 industrial sectors were nearly evenly split between expansions and contractions. Preliminary information indicates an approximate 0.5% increase in real GDP for February.
3.  Crude Inventory Data Shows Decline of 876 Thousand Barrels (USA): Summary of Weekly Petroleum Data for the week ending March 26, 2021, U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 14.9 million barrels per day during the week ending March 26, 2021, which was 0.6 million barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 83.9% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.3 million barrels per day.

April 1: 

Unemployment insurance weekly claims (USA): In the week ending March 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 719,000, an increase of 61,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 26,000 from 684,000 to 658,000.

April 2:

The Employment Situation – March 2021: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March, and the unemployment rate edged down to 6.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Upcoming Events:

Apr 5: 

• ISM Services PMI

Apr 6: 

• RBA Rate Statement
• Cash Rate

Apr 7: 

• Ivey PMI
• Crude Oil Inventories

Apr 8:

• FOMC Meeting Minutes
• Fed Chair Powell Speaks

Apr 9

• RBA Financial Stability Review
• Employment Change
• Unemployment Rate