All eyes on US Fed committee statement

In the US, the spotlight will be on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which is scheduled on January 28. Since the FOMC has reached the interest rate floor, all eyes will be on the committee's statement, with particular attention to any new measures announced along with any changes to the economic forecast.

In terms of data, the US has a packed schedule this week. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the personal consumption figures for the fourth quarter are likely to register weak growth as the financial turmoil tightened credit which eventually translated into lower spending. Existing home sales are likely to have declined further during December until inventory levels diminish. The consumer confidence survey is expected to remain at an all-time low since this measure places more weight on the labour market. The leading indicators survey and the Chicago Purchasing Manager index are also due to be released this week.

In the UK, the economic schedule for this week is quite tight. The CBI Distributive Trades Survey, a measure of retail sales, is the first economic indicator scheduled to be released. The GFK consumer confidence survey is also due to be released this week, providing an insight into the level of confidence consumers have in British economic performance.

The release of mortgage approvals during December will highlight the state of the housing market, while net consumer credit and the money supply aggregates during the month will close this week's data schedule.

A number of economic statistics are scheduled for the euro area. The main focus will be on the Eurozone estimate Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January which is expected to fall to 1.4%. Economists are expecting the January wide area Eurozone unemployment rate, due to be released this week, to further increase to 7.9%. A number of confidence surveys, including consumer, economic, industrial and services, all for January, will end this week's economic release.

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