MNI European Morning Briefing

     LONDON (MNI) - European data is thin on the ground on Thursday, the

calendar gets busier during US hours. The European day kicks off with a Chinese

data dump at 0700GMT; GDP, Retail Sales, Industrial Production and Fixed Asset

Investment will all be released.

     At 0800GMT ECB Governing Council member Jens Weidmann will give a speech at

the joint conference of the International Monetary Fund and the Deutsche

Bundesbank, in Frankfurt.

     Bundesbank Board member Claudia Buch will participate in a joint conference

of the International Monetary Fund and the Deutsche Bundesbank, in Frankfurt at

1245GMT.

     Across the Atlantic the first releases of the day come at 1330GMT, US

Weekly Jobless Claims, Housing Starts and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing

Index are all on the schedule.

     The level of initial jobless claims is expected to fall by 11,000 to

250,000 in the January 13 employment survey week, reversing the 11,000 gain in

the previous week, which marked a third straight increase. Claims were at level

of 245,000 in December 16 employment survey week. The four-week moving average

would rise by 1,250 in the coming week, as the 245,000 level in the December 16

week drops out of the calculation, assuming the MNI forecast is correct and

there are no revisions.

     The seasonally adjusted pace of housing starts is expected to slow to a

1.275 million annual rate in December after another sharp increase in November.

The NAHB index rose sharply in December, a positive for the housing starts data

to remain on a generally upward trend.

     The Philadelphia Fed reading is forecast to dip to a reading of 25.0 after

rising to a revised 27.9 in the previous month.

     At 1430GMT EU ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure participation in

concluding panel at joint conference of IMF and Deutsche Bundesbank "Germany -

Current Economic Policy Debates", in Frankfurt .

     The US Bloomberg Comfort Index will be published at 1445GMT.

     At 1530GMT US Natural Gas Stocks data will be released.

     Another piece of commodity data released at 1600GMT comes in the form of

DoE Weekly Crude Stocks data, delayed by a day due to the US market holiday on

Monday.

     At 2130GMT US Fed Weekly Money Supply Data is on the schedule.

     Rounding off the day at 2305GMT is a speech from Cleveland Federal Reserve

Bank President Loretta Mester on monetary policy at the Council for Economic

Education's Economists on the Economy in New York, with audience Q&A.

--MNI London Bureau; +44 203 865 3809; email: kieran.williams@marketnews.com