What Are Forex Traders Watching This Week?

You might think that the economic news might be slowing down this week after the week we have just had. Alas, that is not so; this week’s forex market might be just as choppy with some critically important reports emanating from Japan, China, Europe, and the UK, in particular.

What Should Forex Traders Be Watching This Week?   Monday

Straight into a GDP report from Japan. The consensus is that Japan’s GDP for Q3 would have fallen by 0.2% after rising by 0.5% in the previous quarter.

Asia continues to hold the spotlight on Monday. China’s October Retail Sales is the following report to hit the shelves. The market is expecting an almost complete per cent drop from the previous month’s 4.4% rise. The report should help determine how serious investors and the country’s Government should take the slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we move over to Europe and analyze its labour reports and GDP. The UK’s unemployment rate is expected to remain stable at 4.5%, even after Rishi Sunak, the UK’s Finance Minister, noted last week that “there are challenges ahead of the British economy.”.

The Eurozone’s GDP reports are released later on Tuesday. Q3 results are expected to be 2.2%, the same as Q2, with YoY GDP, of course, remaining at 3.7%. Contesting these expectations is the report released by the European Commission on 11/11/21, pointing out that Q3 economic activity in the zone has “moved from recovery into expansion”.

Wednesday

Due on Wednesday, US Retail Sales growth for October is anticipated to increase by 0.7%, the same as September’s Retail Sales growth. However, with supply constraints potentially inspiring people to complete some Xmas shopping early, a surprise beat might be on the cards for this report.

Back over the Atlantic, the UK releases its CPI data for October. The YoY CPI for the UK currently stands at 3.1%, after edging down from 3.2% in September. September's CPI dip might be temporary, and several factors indicate that CPI could rise with October's data. Chief among them is the flow-on effect expected from the UK factory gate prices rise to 6.7% in September, from 6.0% in August.

Thursday

On Thursday, it is Canada’s turn to release CPI data. After September's data, Canada’s inflation rate was running at an 18-year high of 4.4%. Market consensus is pointing toward a fifth straight increase in the CPI, to 4.6%, while TradingEconomics predicts an even more significant leap to 4.9%.

Friday

We end the week where we started. This time, Japan notes its CPI data for October. Sustainable price growth in Japanese consumer prices is in doubt moving forward. Last month, CPI hit 0.2%, after remaining below 0.0% since the latter half of 2020. However, Japanese businesses are largely absorbing the rise in their input costs, whether temporary or permanent, rather than passing them onto consumers.