Top 8 Economic Events + Q4 Earnings Reports This Week

EUR Gross Domestic Product - (Monday, January 31)

On Monday, January 31st, at 10:00 GMT, the European M. Union Gross Domestic Product s.a. (QoQ) will be released. Eurostat's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total value of all goods and services generated in the Eurozone. The GDP is a broad indicator of economic activity and health in the Eurozone.

A rising trend usually has a bullish impact on the EUR, while a declining trend has a negative (or bearish ). According to World Bank figures, the European Union's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was approximately 15276.47 billion US dollars in 2020. The European Union's GDP value accounts for 13.52 percent of the global economy.

Watch out for EUR/USD.

Australia RBA Interest Rate Decision - (Tuesday, February 01)

The Australian Reserve Bank unveils its interest rate decision. The AUD will benefit if the RBA is concerned about the economy's inflation prospects and raises interest rates. Similarly, if the RBA has a dovish view of the Australian economy and keeps or lowers interest rates, it is negative or bearish. Australia's next RBA interest rate decision is expected to be 0.1, with no variation from the previous decision.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will announce its interest rate decision on Tuesday, February 1st, at 03:30 GMT. The RBA is expected to rethink its interest rate outlook at its first board meeting of the year on Tuesday, owing to rising inflation and a dramatic drop in the unemployment rate.

Financial markets are pricing in an interest rate hike from the current record low of 0.1 percent by the middle of the year, while economists are looking ahead to the August board meeting. The unemployment rate plunged to 4.2 percent in December, a year earlier than the Reserve Bank of Australia predicted, and inflation is also well ahead of expectations.

Watch out for the AUD/USD.

US ISM Manufacturing PMI - (Tuesday, February 01)

On Tuesday, February 1st, the ISM Manufacturing PMI for the United States will be released at 15:00 GMT. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Index measures the performance of the US manufacturing industry. It is a critical indicator of the overall economic situation in the United States. A result of more than 50 is regarded as satisfactory (or bullish) for the USD, while a result of less than 50 is regarded as negative (or bearish).

Watch out for the EUR/USD and other dollar-related currency pairs.

RBA Gov Lowe Speaks - (Wednesday, February 02)

Philip Lowe has taken over as governor of Australia's central bank in place of Glenn Stevens. Lowe has been the Reserve Bank of Australia's Deputy Governor since February 2012. As the head of the central bank, which regulates short-term interest rates, he wields more power over the country's currency value than anyone else. Traders usually pay close attention to his public appearances because he frequently drops hints about future monetary policy.

Watch out for the AUD/USD.

Australia Trade Balance (MoM) - (Thursday, February 03)

On Thursday, February 3rd, the Australian Trade Balance (MoM) will be released at 24:30 GMT. The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes the trade balance, which is the difference in the value of Australian imports and exports. Export data can be a good indicator of Australian growth, while import data can be a good indicator of domestic demand. The trade balance accurately predicts net export performance. The trade balance will improve if there is consistent demand for Australian exports, which will benefit the Australian dollar.

Watch out for the AUD/USD.

BoE Monetary Policy Decision - (Thursday, February 03)

The Bank of England voted by an 8-1 margin to raise interest rates by 15 basis points to 0.25 percent during its December meeting, for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, as inflationary pressures mounted in the United Kingdom, surprising markets that expected no changes due to the threat of Omicron.

The Committee continues to believe that there are two-sided risks to the medium-term inflation outlook but that some modest tightening of monetary policy over the forecast period is likely to be required to meet the 2 percent inflation target sustainably.

According to bank staff, inflation is expected to remain around 5% for the majority of the winter, peak at around 6% in April 2022, and then fall back in the second half of next year. The bank reduced its forecast for UK GDP in the fourth quarter of 2021 by about 0.5 percent, leaving GDP about 1.5 percent lower than it was pre-Covid.

Watch out for GBP/USD.

Canada - Employment Change - (Friday, February 04)

Canada's Net Change in Employment will be released on Friday, February 4th, at 13:30 GMT. Employment Change from Statistics Canada measures the change in the number of people employed in Canada. In general, a rise in this statistic has a positive impact on consumer spending, which boosts economic growth. As a result, a high CAD reading is considered positive or bullish, whereas a low reading is negative or bearish.

The Canadian unemployment rate fell to a new pandemic low of 5.9 percent in December 2021, down from 6 percent in November, well below market expectations of 6 percent, and within 0.2 percentage points of the rate recorded in February 2020. Despite an increase in coronavirus cases due to the spread of the Omicron variant, it was the seventh consecutive month of decline.

The unemployed population fell by 31,500 (-2.5 percent to 1,212,300), while the employed population grew by 54,700 (+0.3 percent to 19,371,000), far exceeding market expectations of a 27,500 increase. Meanwhile, the labor-force participation rate remained stable from the previous month at 65.3 percent, a record high for the core-aged population.

Watch out for the USD/CAD.

US Nonfarm Payrolls – (Friday, February 04)

The US economy added 199K jobs in the final month of 2021, well below market expectations of 400K. Employment in leisure and hospitality (53K), professional and business services (43K), manufacturing (26K), construction (22K), and transportation and warehousing (22K) continued to rise (19K). In 2021, job growth will average 537K per month, with the economy adding a record 6.44 million jobs during the previous year.

Nonfarm employment (NFP) has surged by 18.8 million since April 2020, but it is still 3.6 million, or 2.3 percent, lower than before the pandemic in February 2020. The impact of the rapid spread of the omicron coronavirus variant on the labor market remains unknown, as the December report only covered the first two weeks of the month, before the worst of the spike that began just before Christmas. Typically, stronger labor market data increases the US demand for the dollar index, and vice versa. Watch out for EUR/USD and other major pairs with the Dollar.

Bonus: Companies' Q4 earnings reports (Monday- Friday)

As quarterly earnings reports may cause volatility for stocks, this week looks like a busy and exciting one in terms of earning reports around the world.

**Monday - 31 January **

Koninklijke KPN NV - KPN.AS

Tuesday - 01 February Advanced Micro Devices Inc - AMD.OQ Chubb Ltd CB.N - SZ Electronic Arts Inc - EA.O Gilead Sciences Inc - GILD.OQ General Motors Co - GM.N

Wednesday - 02 February Abblie Inc - ABBV.N Aflac Inc - AFL.N Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - BABA.N Boston Scientific Corp - BSX.N Cia Cervecerias Unidas SA - CCU.N

Thursday - 03 February Amazon.com InC - AMZN.OQ Activision Blizzard Inc - ATVI.OQ Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentari - BBVA.MC Biogen Inc - BIIB.OQ Boyd Gaming Corp - BYD.N

Friday - 04 February Cedar Realty Trust Inc - CDR.N Intesa Sanpaolo SpA - ISP.IT Sanofi - SASY.PA Sohu.com Ltd - SOHU.OQ TomTom NV - TOM2.AS

Make sure to find all 58 earning reports for this week on NAGA's Earnings calendar. 📅

That's it for this week, happy trading! 📊

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