It’s not enough to know the changes in the forex market. You also need to know what causes these changes. And you can do that by closely monitoring forex-related news. These include announcements made by central banks regarding interest rates, the health of a country’s economy, and the size of their GDP.
Here at FX Strategy, we provide you with a quick list of the biggest events of the coming week, so you can keep track of the changes in the market before they happen.
Here are some major events that you need to follow this week, 25-29 March:
Event: Consumer Confidence – United States
Date: March 26, 2013
Time: 2:00pm (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
The consumer confidence index (CCI) measures the level of confidence consumers have towards their economy. A positive shift in this index means that consumers are likely to spend more, thus driving the economy positively. In the context of the forex market, an upward movement of the CCI also means a positive development for the local currency, in this case, the US Dollar.
This announcement is important because the US economy remains volatile. After seeing highs of 72.2 and 71.5 in October and November 2012, respectively, it dipped to 66.7 then 58.4 in December 2012 and January 2013, before going up to 69.6 last month. The CCI is expected to jump up to 70.3 this March. This announcement could provide signals on the health of the US economy and its currency.
Event: Gross Domestic Product (QoQ) – United Kingdom
Date: March 27, 2013
Time: 9:30am (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
A country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is seen as an indicator of growth. In that case, then, the UK’s economy has contracted by 0.3% during the last quarter of 2012. With the first quarter of 2013 almost up, it remains to be seen whether the economy has grown or contracted further during the announcement of the National Statistics office’s quarter-on-quarter report.
Event: Unemployment Change – Germany
Date: March 28, 2013
Time: 8:55am (GMT)
What It Is About and Why It’s Important
The German labour market was resilient against the global financial crisis. After a dramatic drop of -14k in January, unemployment decreased further by -3k last month. This is a positive sign for the Eurozone’s largest economy, although surveys showed little improvement in job-hiring intentions among employers in the country. Due to its economic status, further decreases in unemployment could help paint a positive picture not only of Germany but also the euro.
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