It’s All About The Fundamentals Vol.1

Key Economic Announcements To Keep An Eye On

We all understand the importance of Fundamental Analysis. Following Technical Analysis, it’s a major introduction to anyone’s “Trading 101” course. What can be a challenge, however, is to trade your fundamentals like a pro in a pool of news and events. Don’t fret, that’s what this week’s few minute reads are here for!

So, some major announcements to keep an eye on…

Employment

Here’s looking at you, Non-Farm Payrolls!

But it’s not just the NFP, of course. Economic announcements about jobs in a country reflect a picture of the whole economic situation. If employment levels are lower than expected, it’s likely that monetary policy will be used to boost them, influencing the entire economy, and hence your trading decisions.

CPI

The Consumer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. 

It’s specifically used to identify periods of inflation. If CPI increases fairly quickly (a period of 6-8 months), we have inflation, and income payments to the population are to be adjusted accordingly, in order to balance out the economy.Similarly, when CPI decreases, there is deflation, and appropriate arrangements are to be made too.

Central Bank Meetings & Speeches

Interest rate hikes, guidance on future policy, and many more aspects, which are bound to influence the markets. Speeches are no less important, as the bits and pieces of information collected can cause a major market rise or drop in a matter of minutes. This is why the Fed Chairman’s, Jerome Powell’s speeches always score “high impact” in your economic calendar.

Customer & Business Sentiment Reports

Freely available online, the amount of customer and business sentiment reports published every month is vast. Why should we care about them? Simply put, although not always reflecting the real state of things (people are prone to being overly positive or overly negative), they still influence market expectations! Experts suggest special focus on times when consumer and business sentiment indicators are going in the same direction.

Retail Sales

Retail sales are a critical indication of a viable economy. The stronger the economy, the more people tend to spend, hence the importance of retail sales figures.

Stay tuned for "It’s All About The Fundamentals Vol.2" this coming Friday! 

Information Source:

//www.forex.com/en/education/education-themes/fundamental-analysis/key-economic-announcements/