Global Central Bank Week: Rate Decisions & Key Data on the Horizon
A busy week lies ahead for global markets, with pivotal central bank meetings from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the Bank of Japan (BoJ), the Federal Reserve, and the Bank of England (BoE) all on the calendar. These decisions, coupled with a heavy slate of economic data, will offer a critical snapshot of the global economy.
Central Bank Decisions
Monetary policy actions are expected to diverge significantly across the major economies this week.
Australia (RBA): The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to hold its cash rate steady at 4.35% at its Tuesday meeting, following three previous hikes.
Japan (BoJ): The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its official rate by 25 basis points on Tuesday in response to rising inflation.
United States (Federal Reserve): The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday. This will be the first meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, who was appointed by President Trump.
United Kingdom (BoE): The Bank of England is expected to leave its interest rate unchanged on Thursday.
Scheduled Economic Data Releases
A range of economic indicators are due for release, providing further insight into the health of these economies.
Australia
Wednesday
- May CPI data.
- RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser is scheduled to speak.
Thursday
- May jobs and unemployment data
- Q2 job vacancies
- Household spending indicator for May
- National and state population data (Q4)
Forecasts & Context:
- The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) forecasts headline inflation to ease to 4.1% in May, with underlying inflation edging higher to 3.5%.
- Market forecasts for job gains in May range from 15,000 to 45,000, with an average of 30,000, following a decline of 19,000 in April.
- Westpac forecasts the unemployment rate to drop to 4.4%, driven by a nudging up of the participation rate.
- Australia's population grew 1.6% year-on-year to 27.7 million in Q3 2025, with quarterly growth of 0.4% (23,300 natural increase, 87,800 net overseas migration). Annual population growth edged higher, according to CBA.
International
China (Tuesday)
- Release of industrial production, retail sales, infrastructure spending, and property data for May.
United Kingdom (Wednesday)
- Release of inflation and jobs/jobless data for May.
New Zealand (Thursday)
- Release of GDP for Q1.
Europe (Monday & Tuesday)
- Monday: EU consumer confidence for June.
- Tuesday: PMI data for Japan, the EU, the UK, and the US.
United States (Wednesday & Thursday)
- Wednesday: New home sales for May.
- Thursday: PCE inflation for May and the final estimate of Q1 GDP.