By Jon Sindreu
LONDON--Economists next week will be watching for continued
declines in prices in the eurozone, as well as for the fallout from
Sunday's general election in Greece.
Data are expected to show prices continued to dip in the
eurozone in January, driven by the falling price of oil.
Median forecasts by analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal
see overall inflation in the 19 countries that share the single
currency dropping further to a negative 0.5% year-on-year in
January, compared with minus 0.2% in December. Figures are also set
to show prices kept plummeting in Germany and Spain during the same
period.
To address subdued prices and the danger of deflation across the
eurozone, the European Central Bank Thursday outlined new plans to
bolster economic activity: A program of government bond purchases
worth over 1 trillion euros ($1.15 trillion), a policy known as
quantitative easing, or QE.
The main focus of interest for economists, however, will be the
aftermath of Sunday's general election in Greece and the
negotiations to form a coalition government that are likely to take
place during the week.
"The outcome of Sunday's election in Greece could conceivably
deal the euro a further blow if the anti-austerity party, Syrzia,
unexpectedly wins an outright majority. We will be reassessing our
forecasts for the currency once we know that result," John Higgins,
economist at Capital Economics, said in a weekly note released
Friday.
Date GMT Indicator Period Forecast Previous
Jan 26 1000 GERMANY Ifo Business climate Jan 106.5 (28) 105.5
Jan 26 1000 GERMANY Ifo Current situation Jan 111.0 (19) 109.8
Jan 26 1000 GERMANY Ifo Business expectations Jan 102.5 (19) 101.4
Jan 28 0800 GERMANY Import prices Dec -1.5%MM (8) -0.8%
Jan 28 0800 GERMANY Import prices Dec -3.5%YY (8) -2.1%
Jan 28 0800 GERMANY GfK Consumer climate Feb 9.1 (21) 9.0
Jan 29 0955 GERMANY Unemployment change Jan -10.000 (16) -27.000
Jan 29 0955 GERMANY Unemployment rate Jan 6.5% (22) 6.5%
Jan 29 1000 EUROZONE M3 money supply Dec +3.6%YY (22) +3.1%
Jan 29 1000 EUROZONE M3 3m average Dec +3.1%YY (6) +2.7%
Jan 29 1100 ITALY Consumer confidence Jan 99.9 (10) 99.7
Jan 29 1100 EUROZONE Economic sentiment Jan 101.7 (20) 100.7
Jan 29 1100 EUROZONE Industrial confidence Jan -4.5 (16) -5.2
Jan 29 1100 EUROZONE Consumer confidence Jan -8.5 (11) -8.5p/-10.9
Jan 29 1100 EUROZONE Business climate Jan +0.10 (6) +0.04
Jan 29 1400 GERMANY CPI preliminary Jan -0.8%MM (18) +0.0%
Jan 29 1400 GERMANY R CPI preliminary Jan +0.0%YY (22) +0.2%
Jan 29 1400 GERMANY HCPI preliminary Jan -1.0%MM (16) +0.1%
Jan 29 1400 GERMANY R HCPI preliminary Jan -0.2%YY (16) +0.1%
Jan 30 0800 GERMANY Retail sales Dec +0.5%MM (12) +0.5%
Jan 30 0845 FRANCE Household consumption Dec +0.5%MM (7) +0.4%
Jan 30 0845 FRANCE Household consumption Dec -0.7%YY (6) -1.1%
Jan 30 0900 SPAIN HCPI Jan -1.5%YY (7) -1.1%
Jan 30 0900 SPAIN GDP preliminary 4Q +0.6%QQ (12) +0.5%
Jan 30 0900 SPAIN GDP preliminary 4Q +1.9%YY (7) +1.6%
Jan 30 1100 EUROZONE HCPI preliminary Jan -0.5%YY (26) -0.2%
Jan 30 1100 EUROZONE Core HCPI preliminary Jan +0.7%YY (17) +0.7%
Jan 30 1100 EUROZONE Unemployment rate Dec 11.5% (23) 11.5%
(Figures in parentheses refer to number of economists surveyed.
p = preliminary)
Write to Jon Sindreu at jon.sindreu@wsj.com