[Note: All times stated are GMT]
Monday
The first tradable event of the week gets underway at 09:00, with the German Institute for Economic Research’s Business Climate Report. The IFO report, which measures the overall sentiment of German manufacturers, builders, wholesalers, and retailers, gives binary options traders - particularly those who like to trade the euro/dollar - a key insight into the relative strength of Europe’s dominant economy.
The next note-worthy activity is at 15:00 with New Home Sales figures from the United States. Strengthening employment data, along with rising property values and a decrease in U.S. consumer debt, should spur prospective home owners to take the plunge, making an improvement on last month’s figure of 464K a distinct possibility.
Tuesday
The day starts early at 12:30am with Business Confidence Data from Australia. An interesting indicator this week especially, as it is released in the wake of a very positive business expectations survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet earlier this month. D&B’s report showed 18% of Australian businesses are planning to expand operations in 2014 and over 15% are looking to take on more staff. Therefore traders should note that there is a good chance that NAB data will come in above forecast.
Preliminary U.K. GDP comes out in London at 09:30. This time last year we saw a figure of negative 0.3%, but the U.K. economy has shown quarter-on-quarter improvement since then, finishing 2013 with a Q4 posting of 0.8 %. The day’s opportunities come to a close in the U.S. with Core Durable Goods Orders data for December and the CB Consumer Confidence report at 13:30 and 15:00 respectively.
Wednesday
Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, is scheduled to address the Scottish Council for Development and Industry at 12:15 in the afternoon. At Davos last week, Carney backed away from his own forward-guidance policy of promising to raise interest rates if unemployment fell to 7%. Cable traders should pay close attention, looking for further insight into the central bank’s monetary policy going forward.
In the evening, focus turns to the Federal Reserve, with a statement from the Federal Open Market Committee due for release at 19:00. The day comes to a close in Wellington at 20:00 with the Official Cash Rate and a Rate Statement from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Thursday
No major releases this morning, so the trading day kicks off at 13:30 in the U.S. with Advance GDP figures and Unemployment Claims. Unemployment numbers have pretty much hit par since mid-December’s disappointing results, and the four-week average is showing a slow but steady improvement in the U.S. labour market. We stay in the U.S. for Pending Home Sales figures from the National Association of Realtors at 15:00. After a mostly bright 2013, pending home sales have contracted month-on-month since August, but keep an eye on Monday’s New Home Sales numbers for more concrete information on the strength of the U.S. housing market before you trade this release.
The day’s opportunities come to a close in New Zealand with Trade Balance figures for December at 21:45. Trade balance and other barometers of economic contraction last week prompted Dagong, China’s ratings agency, to downgrade New Zealand’s outlook from “stable” to “negative”. The Pacific nation has been a net importer for the last 5 months, and this doesn’t look likely to change on Thursday.
Friday
Just two releases to look out for today: A Producer Price Index Report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics at 12:30am, then at 13:30, Ottawa comes out with the Canadian GDP data for November. That is our round-up of the key trading events for the 27th to the 31st of January. Don’t forget to visit our YouTube channel for more market analysis.