As traders approach another pivotal day for financial markets, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, brings a series of crucial economic data releases and decisions that could sway market dynamics. The spotlight falls on retail sales figures, EIA crude oil inventories, and a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Major Economic Events to Watch

• 8:30 AM ET: Core Retail Sales (Apr) - Forecast: 0.4%, Previous: 0.3%. Measures change in retail sales excluding automobiles.

• 8:30 AM ET: Retail Sales (Apr) - Forecast: 1.4%, Previous: 0.2%. Key indicator of consumer spending and overall economic activity.

• 10:30 AM ET: EIA Crude Oil Inventories - Previous: 2.553M. Weekly change in commercial crude oil held by US firms.

• 1:15 PM ET: Fed Chair Powell Speaks. Potential hints on future monetary policy.

Other Important Economic Events to Watch

• 8:30 AM ET: Retail Control - Previous: 1.0%. Core component of retail sales used to calculate GDP.

• 9:15 AM ET: Industrial Production (Mar) - Forecast: -0.2%, Previous: 0.7%. Measures change in total inflation-adjusted output by manufacturers, mines, and utilities.

• 10:00 AM ET: Retail Inventories Ex Auto (Feb) - Forecast: 0.1%, Previous: 0.5%.

• 10:00 AM ET: Business Inventories (Feb) - Forecast: 0.3%, Previous: 0.3%. Measures change in worth of unsold goods held by businesses.

• 10:30 AM ET: EIA Weekly Cushing Oil Inventories - Previous: 0.681M. Important for US crude oil benchmark.

• 1:00 PM ET: Atlanta Fed GDPNow. Running estimate of real GDP growth for the current quarter.

• 1:00 PM ET: 20-Year Bond Auction - Previous: 4.632%. Indicator of government debt situation.

• 4:00 PM ET: TIC Net Long-Term Transactions (Feb) - Forecast: 35.2B, Previous: -45.2B. Measures foreign investment in US securities.

Other Economic Events to Watch

• 7:00 AM ET: MBA Mortgage Applications (Apr 11) - Previous: 20.0%. Indicates change in number of new mortgage applications.

• 8:30 AM ET: Retail Sales Ex Gas/Autos (Mar) - Previous: 0.5%. Shows underlying retail demand patterns.

• 9:15 AM ET: Manufacturing Output (Mar) - Forecast: 0.3%, Previous: 0.9%. Measures change in manufacturing production.

• 9:15 AM ET: Capacity Utilization Rate (Mar) - Forecast: 78.0%, Previous: 78.2%. Indicates overall economic growth and demand.

• 10:00 AM ET: NAHB Housing Market Index (Apr) - Forecast: 38, Previous: 39. Rates current and future single-family home sales.

• 10:30 AM ET: Various EIA inventory and production data for gasoline, distillates, and crude oil.

• 4:00 PM ET: Overall Net Capital Flow (Feb) - Previous: -48.80B. Shows international financial flows.

• 7:00 PM ET: Fed Schmid Speaks. Potential insights on economic assessment and policy outlook.

For further information and the latest updates, please refer to our Economic Calendar, here .

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.