MNI Global Market Briefing

     LONDON (MNI) - The release of inflation data for the euro area and Italy at

1000GMT are the highlights for Friday morning, while in the US the release of

industrial production data will be closely watched at 1315GMT.

     February's flash values for EZ HICP y/y were 1.5% and 0.3% m/m, whereas the

core HICP grew by 1% year-on-year. According to the MNI median there will be no

revision of the current figures. In February energy prices are expected to have

the highest annual rate and therefore the largest impact on inflation in the

eurozone.

     In Italy the flash estimates for Feb HICP were 1.2% y/y and -0.2% m/m. The

MNI median expects the year-on-year figure to remain on the current level.

February's flash estimate for CPI amounted for 0.2% m/m and 1.1% y/y.

     Industrial production in the US is expected to rebound by 0.4% in February

after a 0.6% decline in January, with a number of negative signs for

manufacturing production after January's decline. Factory payrolls rose by only

4,000 in February, with auto production jobs up 1,000, while the factory

workweek contracted further to 40.7 hours from 40.8 hours in January. The ISM

production index fell to 54.8 in the current month from 60.5 in the previous

month. Capacity utilization is forecast to rise to 78.5% after falling to 78.2%

in January.

     BOJ Governor Kuroda holds a press conference about monetary policy in Tokyo

at 0630GMT, to discuss the outcome of the latest policy decision.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com