Today, euro zone and United Kingdom will release some important data before the awaited rate decisions tomorrow. The euro zone will release industrial production for December which is expected to retreat to 0.5% from 0.7% in November, while the annual reading is predicted to fall down to 5.9% from 6.9%. Meanwhile, the main highlight in markets is on the European debt crisis with the growing possibilities Portugal will ask for help to meet its debt requirements. However, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said yesterday that his country will not ask for rescue fund. He added that budge deficit came better than anticipations at 7.3% of GDP in 2010 while this year the rate should declined to 4.6% of GDP, confirming that Portugal does not intend to ask for any help and will undertake all needed measures to avoid such possibility. Speculations increased this week that Germany and France, the largest two economies in the euro region, are practicing pressure on the Portuguese government to accept a bailout to calm markets after the rise in bond yields and cost of insurance against default to record high as well as the drop in the euro against the dollar to four-month low. Today, Portugal will auction long-term bonds then Spain and Italy will sell bonds later in the week. Yesterday, Japan volunteered to buy nearly 20% of European bonds sold this month to finance the Irish bailout, trailing China in supporting euro area highly indebted nations. In the UK, visible trade deficit will narrow to 8350 million pounds in November from 8529 million pounds in October, according to median forecasts. It seems that the UK benefited from the sterling's drop against the dollar in November as it closed the month at 1.5559 from the month's opening level at 1.6040. The British economy will probably seek to achieve growth through overseas sales as the rise in VAT along with the austerity measures adopted by the government this year will weigh on household spending. Eyes will be on the BoE and ECB tomorrow to see January's rate decisions, where both banks are expected to keep their monetary stance unchanged.

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