The U.S. central bank is expected to begin cutting interest rates this week. However, uncertainty remains over whether it will opt for a small or large cut.

Interest rate decisions are also expected in the U.K., Brazil, Norway, Turkey, and South Africa. Japan and China’s central banks are also in focus, with announcements expected alongside decisions in Taiwan and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency markets have already begun to fall sharply on Monday morning, erasing weekend gains.

Economic Events September 16-20

The August retail sales report is due out on Tuesday, which provides data on the amount of money consumers are spending on a variety of durable and non-durable goods.

This provides insight into consumer spending and is a leading indicator of economic growth in the current quarter, in addition to inflation factors.

The August industrial production report is also due out on Tuesday. This data reveals the output of U.S. industries such as manufacturing, mining and utilities. While it is a much smaller segment of economic activity than services, it can still be a leading indicator of productivity.

The Federal Reserve’s long-awaited rate decision and press conference are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 18.

The CME Fed Watch tool currently has a 41% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut and a 59% chance of a larger 50 basis point cut, which would take rates to around 5% from the current 5.5%.

Martin Wetton, head of financial markets strategy at Westpac Banking Corp. in Australia, told Bloomberg: “At the very least, we should expect a soft rate cut given the data flow and the starting point for policy, and that should justify the market’s forward pricing.”

Crypto Market Outlook

Crypto markets were down again on Monday morning, with the total market cap falling 4.3% to $2.12 trillion, erasing all of the gains made over the weekend.

Bitcoin fell 3%, falling from over $60,000 on Sunday to under $58,500 on Monday morning.

Ethereum was hit even harder, down 6% to $2,275 at the time of writing, its lowest in a week.

Altcoins followed suit with their usual lemming tactics, dropping even further, sending the entire top 20 cryptocurrencies into the red.