3 Numbers to Watch: EZ Ind Prod; US PPI & US Confidence survey

The labour market data out of the US yesterday was generally quite positive, but failed to stimulate much of a reaction in markets. Jobless claims for the week ending October 6 came in at 339,000, a decline of 30,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 369,000. This is further evidence that the jobs market in the US is beginning to pick up, albeit at a very moderate pace. Meanwhile, corn moved higher after the US Department of Agriculture’s WASDE crop report showed another downward revision to ending stocks. This was despite a better-than-expected result on production levels.

Looking ahead to today, the Eurozone's industrial production figure is out followed by US PPI and the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey.

Eurozone Industrial Production (09:00 GMT) Industrial production in the single currency zone is expected to slump in August as the ongoing debt crisis continues to depress demand in the region. Month-on-month production is forecast to decline 0.4 percent compared to a 0.6 percent expansion in September, while output is likely to contract by 4.1 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to analysts’ estimates. Industrial output made a modest recovery in the middle of the year after an increase in capital goods in Germany, but dwindling production of durable and non-durables has offset any sustained recovery.  See the Eurozone Industrial Production results live on our financial calendar. 

US PPI (12:30 GMT) The Producer Price Index for finished goods in the US is expected to decline for September, growing by just 0.7% on a month-on-month basis, compared to 1.7% in August, and a decline of 0.3 percentage points year-on-year. Over 80 percent of the broad-based rise in finished goods prices for August is attributable to the index for finished energy goods, which jumped 6.4 percent. Meanwhile, the index for finished consumer foods climbed 0.9 percent in August, the largest rise since November 2011. When excluding food and energy, the inflation measure is expected to grow just 0.2 percent and stay flat at 2.5 percent year-on-year.  See the US PPI results live in our financical calendar. 

University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index (13:55 GMT) The October reading from the University of Michigan’s survey is expected to show a slight deterioration of consumer confidence in the US. The consumer sentiment index is forecast to drop from 78.3 to 77.5 for the month. The index fell to 78.3 in September from 79.2 at mid-month, but still did very well compared with 74.3 in August and 72.3 in July.  See the confidence data release live on our Financial Calendar.

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