What to watch for in this week's economic data

We're set for a busy week of economic data and central bank speeches, with several critical releases expected to provide insights into the state of the global economy.

In the United States, investors will closely watch retail sales data for April, which is expected to show a modest increase. The Philly Fed manufacturing index is also due out and is expected to decline slightly.

In Europe, investors will be focused on German and Eurozone industrial production data and Q1 GDP data for the Eurozone.

In Asia, investors will be watching Chinese retail sales, industrial production data, and Japanese Q1 GDP data.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Nominee Lael Brainard, and several other Fed officials are scheduled to speak in the United States.

ECB President Christine Lagarde and several other ECB officials are scheduled to speak in Europe.

United States

• Retail sales data for April is expected to show a modest increase of 0.7%, following a decline of 0.6% in March.
• Philly Fed manufacturing index is expected to show a slight decline of 0.2 points, following a reading of 25.2 in April.
• Initial jobless claims for May 13 will decline to 252,000 from 264,000 in the previous week.
• Existing home sales data for April is expected to show a decline of 1.2%, following a drop of 2.4% in March.
• The leading index for April is expected to show a modest increase of 0.2%, following a decline of 0.1% in March.

Europe

• German industrial production data for March is expected to show a decline of 0.2%, following a drop of 0.4% in February.
• Eurozone industrial production data for March is expected to show a decline of 0.1%, following a drop of 0.3% in February.
• Eurozone Q1 GDP data is expected to show growth of 0.3%, followed by 0.4% in Q4 2022.

Asia

• Chinese retail sales data for April is expected to show growth of 11.0% year-over-year, following an increase of 10.7% in March.
• Chinese industrial production data for April is expected to show growth of 21.0% year-over-year, following an increase of 20.5% in March.
• Japanese Q1 GDP data is expected to show growth of 0.2% quarter-over-quarter, following growth of 0.5% in Q4 2022.

Central Bank Speeches

United States

• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit on Wednesday, May 17.
• Vice Chair Nominee Lael Brainard will speak at the New York Economic Club on Thursday, May 18.
• Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak at the Economic Club of Memphis on Friday, May 19.

Europe

• ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak at the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on Tuesday, May 16.
• ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos will speak at the European Policy Centre on Wednesday, May 17.
• ECB Executive Board Member Isabel Schnabel will speak at the ECB Forum on Central Banking on Friday, May 19.