Monday 16th October
05:00 AM ET
Eurozone Trade Balance
What is it?
The Trade Balance measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services over the reported period. A positive number indicates that more goods and services were exported than imported.
What to expect:
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the EUR, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the EUR.
Tuesday 17th October
02:00 AM ET
UK Unemployment Rate
What is it?
The ILO (International Labour Organisation) Unemployment Rate released by the National Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. It is a leading indicator for the UK Economy. If the rate is up, it indicates a lack of expansion within the U.K. labor market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the U.K. economy.
What to expect?
Generally, a decrease of the figure is positive (or bullish) for the GBP, while an increase is negative.
UK Unemployment Change
What is it?
Change in the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits during the previous month, released by the ONS (Office National Statistics). As the UK provides a lot of benefits to its population, requiring a lot of money, the more people that sign on, the money that will have to be pooled from the government’s budget to support people.
What to expect:
Generally, a decrease of the figure is positive (or bullish) for the GBP, while an increase is negative.
05:00 AM ET
German ZEW Data
What is it?
- Economic Sentiment:
The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment is calculated from the results of the ZEW Financial Market Survey. The ZEW is followed closely as a precursor and predictor of the Ifo Sentiment Survey and as such is followed closely by market participants. The data is released around the middle of the month for the current month. The survey provides a measure of analysts' view of current economic conditions as well as a gauge of expectations about the coming six months. The latter measure tends to have the larger market impact and reflects the difference between the share of analysts that are optimistic and the share of analysts that are pessimistic. About 350 financial experts take part in the survey.
- Current Conditions:
This survey summarizes the net percentage of positive and negative responses regarding the expectations for economic growth in the next 6 months, as given by financial analysts from banks, insurance companies and large industrial enterprises. For example, if 50% believe that the economic situation will improve and 20% believe it will get worse, the result will be +30.
The survey deals with the markets of Germany, the USA, Japan, Great Britain, France, Italy and other EU countries.
What to expect:
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the EUR, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the EUR.
Wednesday October 18th
02:00 AM ET
UK CPI
What is it?
The consumer price index (CPI) is an average measure of the level of the prices of goods and services bought for the purpose of consumption by the vast majority of households in the UK. The CPI is the Bank of England's target inflation measure.
What to expect:
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the GBP, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the GBP.
05:00 AM ET
Eurozone CPI
What is it?
The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the average price level of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers. Monthly and annual changes in the CPI provide widely used measures of inflation. A provisional estimate, with limited detail, is released about two weeks before the final data are reported.
What to expect:
As the rate of inflation changes and as expectations on inflation change, the markets adjust interest rates. Thus, if the figure is higher, currencies see an increase, whilst stocks generally see a decrease.
Friday October 20th
02:00 AM ET
UK Retail Sales
What is it?
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. The data include all internet business whose primary function is retailing and also cover internet sales by other British retailers, such as online sales by supermarkets, department stores and catalogue companies. Headline UK retail sales are reported in volume, not cash, terms but are available in both forms. The data are derived from a monthly survey of 5,000 businesses in Great Britain. The sample represents the whole retail sector and includes the 900 largest retailers and a representative panel of smaller businesses, including internet sales. Collectively, all of these businesses cover approximately 90% of the retail industry in terms of turnover.
What to expect:
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the GBP, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the GBP.
