The economic calendar is filled to the brim with key events in what is the last full week of trading in 2024. Most noteworthy is the Fed meeting, which concludes Wednesday afternoon with the central bank's latest policy announcement. Wall Street will also pan Tuesday's retail sales data and Friday's Personal Consumption and Expenditures Price Index (PCE) for updates on consumer spending and inflation.
Tuesday, December 17: Retail sales: Retail sales stayed strong in November.
Wednesday, December 18: Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy announcement: The Fed lowered the federal funds rate by a quarter-percentage point Wednesday but projected fewer rate cuts for 2025.
Friday, December 20: PCE and core PCE: BofA Securities economists think PCE and core PCE rose at a slower monthly pace in November.
You can read on to see the entire weekly economic calendar of the most important upcoming economic reports scheduled to be released over the next several days. At times, we provide expanded previews and recaps for select reports.
Please check back often. This economic calendar is updated regularly. Bolded reports are those considered more noteworthy and all reporting times are in Eastern Time.
Economic calendar highlights
Monday (12/16)
Tuesday (12/17)
November retail sales remained strong
Retail sales are one of the more noteworthy events on the economic calendar, with the November report released ahead of Tuesday's open. The data gives investors and economists an important look at inflation and consumers' ability and willingness to spend money.
According to the Census Bureau, retail sales rose 0.7% month over month in November, beating economists' estimate for a 0.5% rise. E-commerce sales remained strong even as a late Thanksgiving pushed Cyber Monday to December, rising 9.8% on a year-over-year basis.
October's data was also upwardly revised, to 0.5% from the initial reading of 0.4%.
"The American consumer is in pretty good shape," says Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank. "Most people who want a job have one, incomes are outpacing inflation, and household wealth is rising rapidly. These are big fundamental supports to consumers' willingness to spend."
Wednesday (12/18)
Fed cut rates again but gives a hawkish outlook for 2025
The conclusion of the FOMC's December policy meeting is the most anticipated event on the economic calendar. The Fed cut rates by a quarter-percentage point, as expected. However, stocks sold off sharply after the central bank's Summary of Economic Projections, or "dot plot," which summarizes what each member expects monetary policy to be going forward, projected just two rate cuts in 2025, down from the four it forecast in September.
In his press conference, Fed Chair Powell said that "as long as the labor market and the economy are solid, we can be cautious" with rate cuts, adding that the federal funds rate is closer to neutral.
"The Fed has been able to maneuver 100 basis points of cuts so far in this cycle but given the trajectory of the economy and the recent uptick of inflation, it is going to be more difficult for the Fed to provide basis to continue cutting rates at the same pace," says Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management.
Ripley adds that the "other reality" is that the central bank "cannot afford to be wrong on inflation again," especially as upside risks persist. "Therefore, we see the bar being raised for rate cuts going forward from here and given this Fed is operating on a data-dependent level, any meaningful upticks of inflation raise the risk that additional rate cuts, if any, will be few and far between," he concludes.
Thursday (12/19)
Friday (12/20)
November PCE due Friday
The PCE is a main event on the economic calendar. The data, which tracks consumer spending, follows recent reports showing that inflation remains sticky.
In October, both headline and core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose at a faster annual pace than what was seen the month prior.
This time around, BofA economists expect November core and headline PCE inflation to be up 0.1% on a month-over-month basis – slower than October – which translates to year-over-year increases of 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively. "If correct, it would be a relief and leave us less worried about the recent trajectory of inflation," the group says.
Reporting schedules are provided Forex Factory and MarketWatch.
