Hang on to your hats because a price war over oil could have wider implications for the market than the Wuhan virus has done.
When Russia refused to play ball with OPEC to cut production in the face of lower demand, Saudi Arabia immediately slashed oil prices at the weekend. Oil prices have not been this low since the great financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the US will report inflation numbers for February, which could show that consumer prices rose around 2.3% last month. Core inflation was stuck at 2.3%.
China could say that the rate of inflation was 5.1% in February. The stubbornly resilient inflation rate could make it harder for the Bank of China to cut interest rates.
India will also report its latest inflation numbers. In January, consumer prices rose for the sixth straight month to the highest since 2014. Economists are expecting the inflation rate to moderate slightly from 7.6% to 7%.
The European Central Bank will announce its latest interest-rate decision on Thursday. The market is expecting the ECB to keep rates unchanged at 0%. But it is hard to see how it can afford to ignore the slowdown in Germany and the impact that the Wuhan virus is affecting Italy.
Malaysia will report unemployment numbers and industrial production for January. The rate of unemployment could be unchanged at 3.3%, while industrial production could have improved from 1.3% in December to 2.8% in January.
And finally, the UK Chancellor will deliver the Spring Budget on Wednesday. Apart from providing support for the UK economy following its decision to leave the European Union, the Budget will also need to address the impact of the Wuhan virus on the country.
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Disclosure: David Kuo does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
