On Monday, official figures could show that inflation in region has fallen further, to around minus 0.8 per cent; excluding energy, the rate should be around 0.3 per cent, far below the ECB's target of close to 2 per cent.
However, this fall is being accompanied by stronger economic activity. Purchasing managers' surveys on Monday should confirm that both manufacturing and services are seeing growth rates at a seven-month high. German industrial production should see a small rise in January, implying that output has risen 0.9 per cent in the last three months compared with the previous three. And we might even see a small fall in unemployment, to around 11.3 per cent - although around 23 per cent of under-25s in the region are without work. We might, however, see a drop in German factory orders but this would only partially reverse last month's big rise; the trend here is upwards too.
This growth is helping the UK; purchasing managers should report a pick-up in manufacturing growth.
We might also see a strengthening in the housing market, thanks to lower mortgage rates and higher real wages. Lloyds Banking could report a pick-up in house price inflation, and Bank of England figures could show a second successive rise in mortgage approvals. The Bank of England won't regard this as a reason to raise interest rates, but it might see it as a sign that the personal sector in aggregate is in a strong enough position to withstand a rate rise when one becomes necessary.
One longstanding problem, however, might remain. Other Bank data could show that bank lending to companies is still falling - and at a faster rate for larger companies than smaller ones. This might be a sign that companies are still reluctant to invest.
In the US, we should see continued growth. Monday's ISM survey might report stronger manufacturing growth after a snow-induced slowdown in January while Friday's numbers should show another rise in net new non-farm jobs of around 250,000. The unemployment rate could fall to 5.6 per cent, its lowest rate since June 2008.
We'll get statements from the ECB and MPC on Thursday. Neither will make any policy change.
