STO - The Most Significant Economic Calendar Events This Week

The economic calendar is an invaluable tool for any serious trader. They list crucial meeting, announcement and data – all of which immediately affect the movement of CFDs. This week is going to be extremely important week, with multiple events of high importance to traders. Here are this week’s most important economic calendar events.
Draghi’s Speech EU – March 13th

President of the European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi was scheduled to speak today - and he mentioned fostering and promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the Eurozone. He mentioned that although most monetary policy concentrates on the demand side of the economy, Draghi believes that a long term strategy should emphasize bolstering both sides – supply and demand. He also mentioned minimizing economic insecurity and preserving Europe’s economic precedent of high social protection and salaries.
Retail Sales U.S. – March 15th

The retail sales announcement for February will be released almost in the middle of the month. Just last month consumer demand saw an upswing of 0.4%. December sales surpassed projections of 0.6% growth to 1.0%. This shows the potential for growth in February also. This could send a signal to the Federal Reserve that it is time for interest rate increase.
Consumer Price Index U.S. – March 15th

CPI is good indicator of a currency’s inflation, projections show that inflation across the board might increase to an annual rate of 2.5% largely due to regression of energy prices that saw a large dip the last year. This will include the consumer price index ex food and energy to give a better image of the economy’s health due to the volatility of food and energy.
FOMC Economic Projections U.S. – March 15th

This report released by the Federal Reserve projects for inflation and economic growth in the upcoming two years. The FOMC also projects interest rates which can be especially important information for traders.
Fed’s Monetary Policy Statement U.S. – March 15th

This event is especially significant for currency traders since the report can influence the volatility of any pair that involves USD. As you can see yourself the middle day of March is an extremely busy day for the Fed and traders tend to hold position in these types of situations, which is probably the best way to manage risk in lieu of these types of statements and announcements.
Fed Interest Rate Decision U.S. – March 15th

Projections at this point seem to all point toward and inevitable interest rate hike. This due to multiple factors primarily though to the expected increase of the Retail Sales.
FOMC Press Conference – March 15th

The one hour long conference can affect the volatility of the market since the answers in the second part of press Q&A are unscripted.
Unemployment Rate s.a. (Feb) Australia – March 16th

Something that can show if the Australian economy leans towards the supply or demand side and the health of the economy is its unemployment rate. Although previous projections expected the unemployment rate to stay stable from January to December (at 5.8%) but in fact fell to 5.7%. The previous year’s unemployment rate for February sat at 5.7%.
Employment Changes (Feb) Australia – March 16th

This is the increase of the employed population in the island-nation. As is expected an increase of this measure means higher spending and a healthier economy, the opposite means the inverse.
BoJ Monetary Policy Statement Japan – March 16th

This statement released by Bank of Japan’s Policy Board affects and helps predict potential changes to Japan’s monetary policy.
BoJ Interest Rate Decision Japan – March 16th

Traders’ safe-haven Yen could be affected by the decision made by the BoJ regarding interest rates.
BoJ Press Conference Japan – March 16th

As a round up of both the monetary policy statement and the interest rate decision the director of the Bank of Japan holds a press conference to inform investors about interest rates, monetary policy, economic forecast, inflation and contributing factors to monetary policy in the near future.
Swiss National Bank Rate Decision Switzerland – March 16th

The SNB is charged as an independent bank to conduct the Swiss monetary policy and it seems that it’s been doing a relatively good job considering the country’s stability and growth.
Bank of England Interest Rate Decision UK – March 16th

At this point the British economy is in the throws of uncertainty due to the impending exit of the UK from the EU. An increase of inflation in December to 1.6% (higher than predicted) and the first month of 2017 raise in January of 1.8% might not play into the BoE’s decision regarding interest rates.
BoE Asset Purchase Facility UK – March 16th

Essentially this is the BoE decision on the value of money. An potentially important decision for the movement of currency pairs involving the British Sterling.
Monetary Policy Summary Report UK – March 16th

This report includes all the information regarding both the results of the interest rate vote and other monetary policies along with economic conditions that affected the vote. It also forecasts the economy’s outlook, indicating the result of future votes.
BoE MPC Vote Cut UK – March 16th

Set by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee comprised of Exec Director for Markets, its Chief Economist, two Deputy Governors and the Governor it is an interest rate intended to meet the targeted inflation rate.
BoE MPC Vote Unchanged UK – March 16th

This is a vote in which the MPC committee decides if their previous interest rate decision remains unchanged.
BoE MPC Vote Hike UK – March 16th

Same as above but the decision if the interest rate should increase or be hiked up.
Bank of England Minutes Report UK – March 16th

Results of both the MPC’s decision and the minutes of their meetings. This also shows how each member of the MPC voted.
These events and knowing about their outcome can help you trade with knowledge, hopefully minimizing risk. Now that you are aware of all the event that could influence markets and the economy, why not try trading with one of STO’s accounts and many CFD asset classes.
This article should be construed as Investment Advice.

STO Review