We finally come to the last month of the year, and this week, there are a number of important news and events we have to watch out for including monetary policy statements from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. There are also GDP data coming out from different countries. Here are the details of these important events:
Event: RBA Interest Rate Decision – Australia
Date: December 3, 2013
Time: 12:30am (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Analysts expect the RBA to maintain cash rates at 2.5%, and that it would remain the case for the rest of 2014. Meanwhile, interest rate hikes are expected to begin in the first half 2015. Let’s see if we could gather some clues on the RBA's possible decisions in the future during this event.
Event: GDP (QoQ/YoY, Q3) – Australia
Date: December 4, 2013
Time: 1:30am (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
The aussie has struggled over the past two weeks, which dragged the AUD/USD pair to the 0.9000-0.9100 areas. As with the interest rate decision, Australia’s GDP data could possibly create a significant effect on the currency. The GDP is expected to grow by 0.7% on a QoQ basis, while it is seen to grow by 2.5% on a YoY basis.
Event: GDP (QoQ/YoY, Q3) – European Union
Date: December 4, 2013
Time: 10:00pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
After Australia, the EU will also release its GDP data, with disappointing figures expected. It is seen to contract by 0.4% compared to the previous month, while it’s expected to grow only by 0.1% over the past 12 months.
Event: BoC Interest Rate Decision – Canada
Date: December 4, 2013
Time: 3:00pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Canada is expected to maintain rates at 1%. However, it’s worth waiting for the statement that will follow to get a glimpse of the BoC’s outlook of Canada’s economy.
Event: BoE Interest Rate Decision – United Kingdom
Date: December 5, 2013
Time: 12:00pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Like Canada and Australia, the United Kingdom is expected to keep its interest rate steady. It is currently at 0.5%.
Event: ECB Interest Rate Decision – European Union
Date: December 5, 2013
Time: 12:00pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
The ECB is just fresh off its previous rate cut which brought down the interest rate to 0.25%. While it’s expected to stay that way at the moment, watch out for the monetary policy statement that will follow to get an idea of the ECB’s outlook of the economy.
Event: GDP Annualised/GDP Price Index (Q3) – United States
Date: December 5, 2013
Time: 1:30pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Positive numbers are expected from the US GDP, where the annualised GDP is seen to have grown by 2.9% over the past quarter, while the GDP price index is expected to have grown by 1.9% during the same period.
Event: Unemployment Rate/Net change in employment – Canada
Date: December 6, 2013
Time: 1:30pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Canada’s unemployment rate is expected to increase slightly from the previous 6.9% to 7.0%, while the net change in employment is seen to be at 7.6K in November.
Event: Nonfarm Payrolls (Nov) – United States
Date: December 6, 2013
Time: 1:30pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
Probably one of the most anticipated news from the US this week is the NFP. It’s expected to be at 185K in November.
Event: Unemployment Rate (Nov) – United States
Date: December 6, 2013
Time: 1:30pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
The US will also release its unemployment rate data for November. It’s seen to drop slightly to 7.2% from the previous 7.3%.
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