trading week nov 2 to 7

Oct. 31, 2008 (Allthingsforex.com) – The U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls and three interest rate announcements from the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank of England, and the European Central Bank will kick-start the trading month ahead.

In preparation for the new trading week, here is a quick look at the most important economic events that every currency trader should pay attention to.

Sunday, Nov. 2 will start the trading session with a strong sequence of significant economic releases from “down under”, beginning with New Zealand’s Labor Cost Index, a measure of price changes in labor costs, at 5:45 pm, ET, and the Australian Manufacturing PMI- Purchasing Managers Index of the level of activity of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, at 6:30 pm, ET.

The first spotlight event of the week- the Australian TD Securities Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge, a measure of consumer inflation used as a leading monthly indicator of the official quarterly Consumer Price Index, will be released at 7:30 pm, ET.

The day will conclude with another important economic report- the Australian Retail Sales, the main gauge of consumer spending, at 8:30 pm, ET, along with the Australian House Price Index of the monthly changes in home prices, also at 8:30 pm, ET.

Monday, Nov. 3 will begin early with the Australian Commodity Prices Index of changes in commodities’ prices, at 1:30 am, ET, and the Swiss PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing and service sectors, at 4:30 am, ET.

The Euro-zone Manufacturing PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, will be released at 5:00 am, ET, followed by the U.K. Manufacturing PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, at 5:30 am, ET.

The U.S. economic data will bring a spotlight event- the ISM Manufacturing Index, a composite diffusion index of national conditions in the manufacturing sector, at 10:00 am, ET, along with the U.S. Construction Spending, also at 10:00 am, ET. A reading above or below 50 will be the dividing line between economic expansion and contraction.

Later that night, the Japanese Average Cash Earnings, measuring the monthly change in the wages paid to jobholders, will be released at 9:30 pm, ET, and New Zealand’s Commodity Prices Index of changes in commodities’ prices, at 10:00 pm, ET.

The day will end with a spotlight event- the Reserve Bank of Australia Interest Rate Announcement, at 10:30 pm, ET.

Tuesday, Nov. 4 will start with a significant economic release- the Swiss CPI- Consumer Price Index, the main measure of inflation, at 1:45 am, ET, followed by the U.K. Construction PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, at 5:30 am, ET.

News from the Euro-zone will bring another important economic report- the Euro-zone PPI- Producer Price Index, the main measure of inflation experienced by manufacturers, due at 6:00 am, ET.

The only U.S. economic data will be the U.S. Factory Orders, representing the dollar value of new factory orders for both durable and nondurable goods, at 10:00 am, ET, but on the geo-political front, traders will also pay close attention to the U.S. Presidential Election, as voters will elect the new President of the United States.

The day will conclude with the U.K. Consumer Confidence Index, a survey of consumers’ financial conditions and attitudes about the economy, at 7:00 pm, ET, followed by the Australian Building Approvals and the Australian Trade Balance of the difference between imports and exports, scheduled at 8:30 pm, ET.

Wednesday, Nov. 5 will begin with the Euro-zone Services PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the services sector, at 4:00 am, ET.

A spotlight event will follow with the release of the U.K. Industrial Production and Manufacturing Output, a measure of the physical output of the nation's factories, mines and utilities, at 4:30 am, ET, along with the U.K. Services PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, also at 4:30 am, ET.

More European news will bring a spotlight event- the Euro-zone Retail Sales, the main measure of consumer spending, at 5:00 am, ET, followed by the U.K. BRC- British Retail Consortium Shop Price Index, measuring the rate of inflation experienced by retailers, at 5:30 am, ET.

The U.S. data will deliver a spotlight event- the ADP-Automatic Data Processing Employment Report, a preliminary estimate that could help to predict the outcome of monthly non-farm payrolls, at 8:15 am, ET.

The U.S. releases will continue with another spotlight event- the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index of economic conditions in industries like agriculture, mining, construction, transportation, communications, wholesale trade and retail trade, at 10:00 am, ET, and the EIA- Energy Information Administration Weekly Oil Inventories, at 10:30 am, ET.

The day will conclude with several notable economic reports, beginning with New Zealand’s Unemployment Rate and Employment Change, at 5:45 pm, ET, and the Bank of Japan’s Monetary Policy Meeting Minutes from the last monetary policy meeting that may provide some clues about the bank’s future monetary policies, at 7:50 pm, ET.

The sequence of important economic data will continue with the preliminary estimate of the U.K. GDP- Gross Domestic Product, the main measure of economic activity and growth, at 8:00 pm, ET, and the Australian Unemployment Rate and Employment Change, at 8:30 pm, ET.

Thursday, Nov. 6 will begin early with the Japanese Leading Indicators of economic activity, at 1:00 am, ET, and the German Factory Orders placed for manufactured goods, at 5:00 am, ET.

Two of the main spotlight events of the week will follow- Bank of England's Interest Rate Decision at 7:00 am, ET and the European Central Bank's Interest Rate Decision at 7:45 am, ET. No rate changes are expected from both of these central banks.

After the interest rate announcements, the U.S. Non-farm Productivity and Labor Costs Index, measuring the growth of labor efficiency in producing the economy's goods and services, will be released at 8:30 am, ET, along with the U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims and the Canadian Building Permits, also at 8:30 am, ET.

Another important event that morning will be the European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet's speech at 8:30 am, ET at the press conference following the ECB Governing Council's interest rate decision. The language of the statement will be very closely watched for any hints of future changes in the ECB’s monetary policy.

News from Canada will deliver the Canadian PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in all sectors of the economy, at 10:00 am, ET.

More U.S. data will bring the EIA- Energy Information Administration Weekly Natural Gas Inventories, at 10:30 am, ET, the U.S. Treasury Strips, a report of the amount of net stripping of Treasury securities that has taken place during the month, at 3:00 pm, ET, and the U.S. Money Supply by degree of liquidity, at 4:30 pm, ET.

The day will end with the Australian Construction PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the construction sector, at 6:30 pm, ET.

Friday, Nov. 7 will start with the Swiss Unemployment Rate, at 1:45 am, ET, the German Trade Balance of the difference between the imports and exports of the Euro-zone’s largest economy, at 2:00 am, ET, and the German Industrial Production, at 6:00 am, ET.

News from Canada will bring the Canadian Unemployment Rate and Employment Change, at 7:00 am, ET.

The trading week will conclude with its main spotlight economic event- the U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls and Employment Situation Report, one of the most important indicators of economic health, measuring the number of new jobs created, scheduled at 8:30 am, ET, along with the U.S. Unemployment Rate and Average Hourly Earnings, also due at 8:30 am, ET.

The U.S. Wholesale Trade, a measure of the dollar value of sales made and inventories held by merchant wholesalers, at 10:00 am, ET, the U.S. Pending Home Sales Index, also at 10:00 am, ET, and the U.S. Consumer Credit, measuring the dollar value of outstanding consumer installment credit, at 3:00 pm, ET, will wrap up the busy first trading week of the month.