Economic Calendar:

Monday, 1^st February

German Retail Sales (MoM) (Dec)

Spanish Manufacturing PMI (Jan)

Italian Manufacturing PMI (Jan)

French Manufacturing PMI (Jan) Final

German Manufacturing PMI (Jan) Final

Eurozone Manufacturing PMI (Jan) Final

Eurozone Unemployment Rate (Dec)

Tuesday, 2^nd February

Eurozone GDP y/y (Q4) 1st Estimate

Eurozone GDP q/q (Q4) 1st Estimate

Wednesday, 3^rd February

Spanish Services PMI (Jan)

Italian Services PMI (Jan)

French Services PMI (Jan) Final

German Services PMI (Jan) Final

Eurozone Markit Composite PMI (Jan) Final

Eurozone Services PMI (Jan) Final

Italian CPI (MoM) (Jan) Prelim

Eurozone CPI (YoY) (Jan) Prelim

Eurozone Core CPI (YoY) (Jan) Prelim

Eurozone CPI m/m (Jan) Prelim

Thursday, 4^th February

IHS Markit Construction PMI (Jan)

ECB Economic Bulletin

Eurozone Retail Sales (MoM) (Dec)

Friday, 5^th February

German Factory Orders (MoM) (Dec)

French Non-Farm Payrolls (QoQ) (Q4)

The Majors

It was a bearish end to the week for the European majors on Friday. The CAC40 slid by 2.02%, with the DAX30 and the EuroStoxx600 falling by 1.71% and by 1.87% respectively.

Economic data from France, Germany, and Spain failed to support the European majors on the day.

Concerns over vaccine supply shortages across the EU and low vaccination rates weighed on riskier assets.

Supply issues faced by the EU could further delay any economic recovery. New strains of the virus have also forced governments to introduce stricter containment measures.

The Stats

It was a busy day on the economic calendar. 4^th quarter GDP figures for France, Germany, and Spain were key stats on the day.

French consumer spending and German unemployment numbers, together with Spanish inflation figures were also in focus.

The stats were skewed to the positive, with both Germany and Spain avoiding economic contractions in the 4^th quarter.

Germany’s economy expanded by 0.1%, with Spain’s economy expanding by 0.4%. France’s economy struggled, however, with the economy contracting by 1.3%.

At the end of the year, French consumer spending jumped by 23%, reversing an 18.9% slump from November.

German unemployment fell by a further 41k in January, following a 40k decline in December, to leave the unemployment rate at 6.0%.

From the U.S

It was a busier day on the U.S economic calendar.

Personal spending, inflation, and Chicago PMI figures were in focus.

The stats were also skewed to the positive but also failed to support the European majors on the day.

Personal spending fell by a further 0.2%, following a 0.7% decline in November. Economists had forecasted a 0.4% decline.

Inflationary pressures picked up at the end of the year. The annual rate of core inflation rose from 1.4% to 1.5%.