| Canadian GDP Data Reveals Stable Growth Posted: 31 Oct 2011 06:04 AM PDT 
The early afternoon release of Canada's GDP data revealed an economy in modest stability. The release of a nation's gross domestic product report is a strong indicator of that nation's economic health and well-being. Today's release revealed to investors that Canada's economy is stronger than previously assumed. The forecasts for today's numbers were for a mildly sluggish publication of 0.2%, below last quarter's 0.3% growth. The actual reading of 0.3% has given traders cause to look over their numbers once again and revalue their Canadian dollar (CAD) positions. Look to the CAD making decently bullish moves throughout the week as one result of today's numbers. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| Japanese Home Construction Expecting Sharp Plummet Posted: 31 Oct 2011 06:01 AM PDT
This morning's early publication of Japanese housing starts portrayed a capital economy in deep contraction heading into the end of 2011. Housing starts are an indicator of the number of private homes starting construction, making it an early gauge of domestic capital investment and early consumer spending and optimism. The indicator was expected to show a modest uptick of approximately 8.3% this month. The shocking 10.8% contraction in housing starts has riled several large investors. The Japanese yen (JPY) was trading with mixed results as a consequence and some are wondering what impact this will have on yen values as the year comes to a close. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| German Retail Sales Underperforming Posted: 31 Oct 2011 05:57 AM PDT
The euro zone continues to struggle with economic data heading into the fourth quarter of 2011. This morning's publication of Germany's retail sales revealed even more sluggish growth in the region's largest economy. The report was expected to show a healthy month-on-month growth of 1.1%, a solid uptick from last month's 2.7% contraction. The actual reading, while far better than last month's, was still shy of the mark with only 0.4% growth being reported. The impact has been a mild downward tug on the EUR since the data's release. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| Swiss KOF Barometer in Decline Posted: 28 Oct 2011 07:19 AM PDT
This morning's publication of Switzerland's KOF Economic Barometer revealed an economic outlook that has dipped somewhat since last month's reading. A combination of economic indicators is now portraying economic conditions slightly more pessimistically than before. The measure only fell by approximately 0.2 points from 1.00 to 0.80, a measure that still falls within optimist territory, but only slightly. The Swiss economy has fared relatively well over the last several years, only recently falling from a gouging effect brought on by an artificially strong currency.  |
| Japanese Unemployment Falls 0.2% in October Posted: 28 Oct 2011 07:17 AM PDT
A surprise indicator from the Japanese economy this morning revealed an employment sector growing modestly through the autumn months. Expectations were for a worsening of the unemployment situation in Japan due to the decline in manufacturing and industrial production lately. The actual results produced a surprise uptick in optimism about Japan as unemployment fell this past month from 4.3% to 4.1%. The report tends to have less impact on the value of the JPY, though it is a significant indication of job growth in the struggling island economy.  |
| British Consumers Increasingly Pessimistic Posted: 28 Oct 2011 07:04 AM PDT
A survey conducted of roughly 2,000 British citizens asking them to rate their views on the state of the economy found that pessimism is growing in the UK. The report, issued by GfK NOP, reported a decline by two base points in their survey measure. The findings were only mildly below forecasts, which expected no change from last month's reading of -30. The actual report came in at -32, making the pessimism only slightly higher, but still ominous given the news surrounding the rest of Europe to the south and east of Britain.  |
| Advance US GDP Supports Growth Prospects Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:17 AM PDT
Thursday release of Advance GDP in the United States underscored a plausible increase in the nation's economic growth. As an early indicator of economic expansion in the world's largest economy, this indicator is highly important to gauging the direction of the market. Expectations for today's GDP release were for a very moderate upturn from last quarter's early reading with a 2.4% growth priced in. The actual result was only mildly higher with a figure of 2.5% growth. This supports recent measurements of an American economy expanding modestly throughout the fourth quarter. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| Prelim CPI in Germany Sees Zero Growth Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:12 AM PDT
The preliminary reading on the consumer price index (CPI) in Germany this morning revealed utter stagnation. The reading was expected to show a 0.1% increase in consumer inflation, a dismal reading on its face, but the actual results being lower than this have so far pulled back on the EUR in today's trading. CPI is an interesting measure of the growth rate of the prices consumers pay. The economic forces which influence inflation are varied and numerous and it seems difficult to assess what impact such figures have except to say that Germans are not paying more for their consumer goods. On its face it sounds positive, but the indication is that the German economy isn't growing, which can result in negative growth should it persist. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| Japanese Retail Sales Plummet 1.2% Posted: 27 Oct 2011 06:06 AM PDT
Expectations for this morning's retail sales data out of Japan were for zero growth, which would have been a step in the right direction had it occurred. Unfortunately, the level of consumer spending on retail items in Japan fell by approximately 1.2% in October. The impact has so far been muted by the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) interest rate statement which saw the nation's rates held near zero percent and few comments worthy of note. The yen is still trading mildly bullish, though some setbacks have been seen from recent data. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| US Durable Goods Orders Reported with Mixed Results Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:44 AM PDT
The publication of the durable goods orders reports from the United States earlier this afternoon revealed a mixed sentiment regarding the manufacturing sector of the world's largest economy. The nominal figure came in with a reading slightly below forecasts with a 0.8% contraction. The core reading, however, beat forecasts with optimistic growth. The core reading measures the same level of orders as the nominal reading, but excludes transportation items due to their heightened level of volatility. The core reading revealed a 1.7% increase in durable goods orders for October. This reading, which tends to have greater impact, gave several traders reason to be optimistic, but the downturn in transportation orders sends mixed signals about the direction of American manufacturing. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
| Australian Core CPI Sluggish in October Posted: 26 Oct 2011 07:27 AM PDT
Consumer inflation, as reported by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this morning, seems to have held steady at 0.6% in October. But the Trimmed Mean CPI, which is similar to the Core CPI reading of other countries since it excludes the most volatile items, revealed sluggishness with only 0.3% growth despite forecasts for a higher reading. The consumer price index (CPI) measures the change in price paid by consumers and represents one measure of economic growth. If prices are increasing, it can be due to any one or a combination of several factors including higher demand, rising energy costs, rising manufacturing costs, lower supply, longer transportation times (i.e. higher transportation costs) due to increased traffic during the holidays, etc. The sluggish reading suggests that the core of Australia's inflationary growth is being held lower which may affect the Aussie's (AUD) value over time. Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.  |
