FX.co ★ Week Ahead - May 18th

Ongoing swings between conciliatory and confrontational rhetoric from the US and Iran will continue to influence markets, with no clear resolution to the conflict in sight. Despite macroeconomic headwinds, global equities have been buoyed by strong guidance from AI infrastructure companies, which face a major test next week with Nvidia’s earnings release. At the same time, the Federal Reserve will publish minutes from its latest meeting, at which three members dissented.

In the US, attention will center on leading indicators, including PMIs, regional Fed indices, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, and housing price data. Leading indicators will also be in focus in Europe, with Germany set to release its GfK and Ifo surveys, while flash PMIs will be published for the Eurozone.

In the UK, key data releases will include inflation, unemployment, and retail sales. China will also deliver a heavy data week, with figures on industrial output, retail sales, unemployment, housing prices, and fixed investment. In Japan, first-quarter GDP data are due.