Standard Chartered economists Carol Liao and Shuang Ding expect China to set a 2026 GDP growth target of 4.5–5.0% at the National People’s Congress, slightly below 2025.

New Zealand ANZ – Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence dipped from previous 107.2 to 100.1 in February

DBS Group Research economist Chua Han Teng notes that the Bank of Thailand surprised markets with a 25bps rate cut to 1.00% at its first 2026 meeting, following earlier easing since October 2024.

Federal Reserve (Fed) President of the Bank of Chicago, Austan Goolsbee, said interest rates can come down, but they don't want to front-load before inflation eases. He also added he wants the Fed to be careful in a Fox News Interview on Thursday.

ABN AMRO economists Jan-Paul van de Kerke and Max Raatjes report that stronger-than-expected Dutch GDP in Q4 2025 and solid momentum into 2026 have led them to upgrade growth forecasts.

Nordea’s Group Chief Economist Helge J. Pedersen notes that Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has called a Danish parliamentary election for Tuesday, March 24. The current three-party government of the Social Democrats, Venstre and the Moderates is unlikely to remain unchanged.

United States 7-Year Note Auction dipped from previous 4.018% to 3.79%

ING analysts Frantisek Taborsky and David Havrlant say Czech fiscal policy has loosened only marginally after the election, with the public finance deficit seen at 2.2% of GDP in 2026 and risks tilted higher.

UOB’s Global Economics & Markets Research expects Bank of Korea to keep the base rate at 2.50% throughout 2026, after a sixth consecutive hold in February.

United States 4-Week Bill Auction: 3.625%

United States Kansas Fed Manufacturing Activity up to 10 in February from previous -2

United States EIA Natural Gas Storage Change rose from previous -144B to -52B in February 20

TD Securities argues US political dynamics will shape Dollar and EMFX performance into 2026.

Standard Chartered economists Christopher Graham and Saabir Salad argue that stronger UK activity data in early 2026 raises questions about how quickly the Bank of England will cut rates.

Federal Reserve (Fed) Governor Stephen Miran said that he has not seen anything worrisome yet in private credit despite some bumps, and added that prices right now seem stable, in an interview with Fox Business on Thursday.

Commerzbank’s Dr. Marco Wagner introduces a new financial impulse indicator based on the Fed's FCI-G indicator that signals how strongly the financial environment is driving or slowing down the economy.

TD Securities’ Oscar Munoz and Eli Nir argue that a stable US labor market and contained inflation should keep the Federal Reserve on hold in the near term, even as growth remains firm.

Deutsche Bank’s Sanjay Raja expects the UK Spring Statement on 3 March to be a low-key update, with few new policy measures after the Autumn Budget. The Office for Budget Responsibility will refresh forecasts, with borrowing projected to undershoot and fiscal headroom to rise.

There were 212K Initial Jobless Claims in the week ending February 21, the US Department of Labor (DOL) reported on Thursday. This print followed 208K (revised from 206K) recorded in the previous week and came in slightly better than the market expectation of 215K.

United States Continuing Jobless Claims came in at 1.833M, below expectations (1.86M) in February 13

Canada Current Account registered at -0.7B above expectations (-7.7B) in 4Q

United States Initial Jobless Claims 4-week average increased to 220.25K in February 20 from previous 219K

United States Initial Jobless Claims came in at 212K below forecasts (215K) in February 20

Mexico Jobless Rate above forecasts (2.6%) in January: Actual (2.7%)

Mexico Jobless Rate s.a remains unchanged at 2.6% in January

Italy 10-y Bond Auction: 3.31% vs previous 3.44%

Italy 5-y Bond Auction fell from previous 2.74% to 2.62%

Belgium Consumer Price Index (MoM) up to 0.54% in February from previous 0.44%

Belgium Consumer Price Index (YoY) increased to 1.45% in February from previous 1.1%

Rabobank’s Michael Every highlights a key UK by‑election as a potential catalyst for Pound and Gilts volatility. Polls show Reform UK, Greens and Labour clustered around 27–28% support, implying any winner will represent a minority of voters.