Jimmy Carter’s funeral should keep a lid on US trading but Fedspeak is on the agenda

The United States is holding a national day of mourning for Jimmy Carter today following his December 29 death. That’s led to a re-write of the economic calendar with the bond auction scheduled for today moved up and economic data released adjusted.

SIFMA recommends an early close to fixed income trading at 2 pm ET so that market will stiff offer something of a guide. Yields are down 3-5 bps across the curve so far today.

US equities and options are closed today and futures will stop trading during regular hours and resume at 8:15 pm ET.

One quirk that’s not clear is that five Fed officials have speeches scheduled for today. Eamonn outlined the details of what they’re expected to talk about. I suspect some of those have been rescheduled but up first is Harker at 9 am ET. The topic is “Right Now, It’s Putting One Foot in Front of the Other” so I think that gives us an idea of what he will say regarding interest rates.

Another speech to watch is the last one of the day, from the Fed’s Bowman at 1:35 pm ET. Not only could it be delayed due to Carter’s funeral but it’s also in Laguna Beach, California, which is facing possible power shut offs due to fire warnings.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.