European Economics Preview: ECB Expected To Hold Interest Rates

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Interest rate decision from the European Central Bank and GDP data for the Eurozone are due on Thursday, headlining a busy day for European economic news.

Interest rate decision from the European Central Bank is due at 7:45 am ET. Economists expect the policy rate to be retained at the record low of 1.00%. Central bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet will be holding his regular press conference at 8:30 am ET.

At 2:45 am ET, the French statistical office INSEE is scheduled to release unemployment data for the third quarter. Economists expect the ILO unemployment rate to rise to 9.9% in the third quarter, from 9.5% in the second quarter.

Producer price inflation figures for October are due from Romania's National Institute of Statistics at 3:00 am ET. In September, producer prices had fallen 1.2% annually.

At 3:30 am ET, Netherlands' Central Bureau of Statistics is slated to release consumer price data for November. Consumer prices are forecast to rise 0.9% year-on-year in November, faster than the 0.7% increase in the previous month.

It is followed by the release of services PMIs of Italy, France, Germany and the Eurozone. At 3:45 am ET, Italy's Markit / ADACI services PMI is due, with the corresponding index expected to hold steady at 52.2 in November.

The French Markit/CDAF services PMI follows at 3:50 am ET, with the flash reading of the index expected to be confirmed at 60.4. The German services PMI comes next at 3:55 am ET. Economist forecast a reading of 51.5 for German PMI. The Eurozone's PMI is due at 4:00 am ET, with the index expected to stand at 53.2.

Trade data for November is due from Statistics Iceland at 4:00 am ET. Last month, a trade surplus of ISK 16.35 billion was logged.

At 4:30 am ET, the UK CIPS services PMI is due. The corresponding index seen at 57 in November compared to 56.9 in October.

The Eurostat is expected to issue the first estimate of third quarter's GDP results at 5:00 am ET. Economists expect the Eurozone's exit from the recession to be confirmed, with GDP rising 0.4% sequentially but contracting 4.1% annually.

Retail sales data is also due from the statistical office at the same time. Retail sales are forecast to rise 0.2% month-on-month in October, rebounding from the 0.7% decrease in the previous month. On a yearly basis, sales are expected to fall 2.4%.

Interest rate decision from the European Central Bank and GDP data for the Eurozone are due on Thursday, headlining a busy day for European economic news. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)