European Economic News Preview: ECB Monetary Policy Decision Due

(RTTNews) - The monetary policy announcement from the European Central Bank and preliminary GDP data from the major euro area economies are due on Thursday, headlining a hectic day for the European economic news.

At 1.30 am ET, France's statistical office INSEE publishes flash GDP and consumer spending data. The economy is expected to remain flat sequentially in the fourth quarter after rising 0.4 percent in the preceding quarter.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis releases Germany's import prices for December. Economists forecast import prices to climb at a faster pace of 1.9 percent annually after a 0.6 percent rise in November.

At 3.00 am ET, flash inflation figures are due from Spain. Consumer price inflation is seen at 2.9 percent in January, up from 2.8 percent in December.

At 4.00 am ET, Destatis publishes Germany's flash GDP data for the fourth quarter. The largest euro area economy is expected to shrink 0.1 percent sequentially, offsetting a 0.1 percent rise in the prior quarter.

Half an hour later, the Bank of England is set to issue UK mortgage approvals for December. The number of approvals is forecast to fall to 65,000 from 65,720 in November.

At 5.00 am ET, Eurozone GDP data is due. The currency bloc is expected to grow at a weaker pace of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 0.4 percent expansion a quarter ago.

Also, the European Commission issues euro area economic sentiment survey results. The economic confidence index is forecast to rise to 94.1 in January from 93.7 in the previous month.

At 8.15 am ET, the ECB is set to unveil the outcome of its governing council meeting held in Frankfurt. The bank is expected to cut the deposit rate by a quarter-point to 2.75 percent. The ECB had reduced the rate by 25 basis points each in October and September last year.

Markets await the press conference of ECB Chief Christine Lagarde, due at 8.45 am ET, for additional hints about future interest rate path.