The economic calendar for the first trading session of the week 22nd-26th January 2018 is very light, with only important economic events in the American session, related to the economies of Canada and US. For today the expected volatility and price action in the forex market is expected to be low to moderate, as the forex market participants will wait for a series of important events later in the week, to form possible new trends.
Later in the week there are 2 central bank rate decisions, one from the Bank of Japan on Tuesday 23rd January and then on Thursday 25th January 2018 the ECB interest rate decision. There are also important fundamental news about the state of manufacturing and services sectors in the Eurozone and the US, inflation rate for Canada and gross domestic growth rates for the UK and US. All these important economic events will likely form either new trends or continuation n the existing trends for several of the major currencies.
The greater the economic surprises, either positive or negative, the more likely are the odds of witnessing increased volatility. Increased volatility is expected for today for the USD/CAD currency pair.
For today these are the major economic events to focus on:
American Session
- Canada Wholesale Sales MoM
Time: 13:30 GMT
In general Wholesale Sales measures the change in the total value of sales at the wholesale level, and they are considered as a leading indicator of consumer spending. A higher than expected or rising figure is considered positive for the Canadian Dollar, as increased consumer spending leads to higher economic growth, measured by the GDP level. The forecast is for a reading of 1.0% on a monthly basis, a decline compared to the previous reading of 1.5%.
- US Chicago Fed National Activity Index
Time: 13:30 GMT
Chicago Fed National Activity Index is used to assess economic activity and inflationary pressure within the country. The index is based on 85 different monthly indicators. Positive readings of this index correspond to economic growth above the trend. Positive values indicate above-average growth, and are considered positive for the US Dollar. Rising or better than expected readings are considered positive for the US economy and the US Dollar, but it is a highly volatile Index, and in 2017 its values were both positive and negative, providing mixed results about the state of the US economy and the economic activities of various sectors, such as the manufacturing and industrial . The forecast is for a figure of 0.44, higher than the previous reading of 0.15, which should be supportive for the US Dollar.
