UK Bank of England Minutes

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous:

Notes: The minutes of the BoE MPC meetings are published two weeks after the interest rate decision. The minutes give a full account of the policy discussion, including differences of view. They also record the votes of the individual members of the Committee. Generally speaking, if the BoE is hawkish about the inflationary outlook for the economy, then the markets see a higher possibility of a rate increase, and that is positive for the GBP.

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UK BOE MPC Vote Unchanged

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 9

Notes: Interest rates are set by the Bank���s Monetary Policy Committee. The MPC sets an interest rate it judges will enable the inflation target to be met. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is made up of nine members ��� the Governor, the two Deputy Governors, the Bank's Chief Economist, the Executive Director for Markets and four external members appointed directly by the Chancellor. The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.

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UK BOE MPC Vote Hike

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 0

Notes: Interest rates are set by the Bank���s Monetary Policy Committee. The MPC sets an interest rate it judges will enable the inflation target to be met. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is made up of nine members ��� the Governor, the two Deputy Governors, the Bank's Chief Economist, the Executive Director for Markets and four external members appointed directly by the Chancellor. The appointment of external members is designed to ensure that the MPC benefits from thinking and expertise in addition to that gained inside the Bank of England.

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UK Retail Sales ex-Fuel (YoY)

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous:

Notes: The Retail Sales ex-fuel released by the National Statistics is a measure of changes in sales of the British retail sector excluding fuel. It shows the performance of the retail sector in the short term. Percent changes reflect the rate of changes of such sales. The changes are widely followed as an indicator of consumer spending. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the Pound, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

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JP BoJ Press Conference

Location: Japan

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 07:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous:

Notes: Kuroda, BoJ's governor, will give a press conference in order to communicate with investors regarding monetary policy. He talks about the factors that affected the most recent interest rate decision, the overall economic outlook, inflation, and clues regarding future monetary policy.

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JP BoJ Interest Rate Decision

Location: Japan

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 04:00

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 0.1%

Notes: BoJ Interest Rate Decision is announced by the Bank of Japan. Generally, if the BoJ is hawkish about the inflationary outlook of the economy and rises the interest rates it is positive, or bullish, for the JPY. Likewise, if the BoJ has a dovish view on the Japanese economy and keeps the ongoing interest rate, or cuts the interest rate it is negative, or bearish.

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JP BoJ Monetary Policy Statement

Location: Japan

Date: 21/05/2014

Time: 04:00

Strength: 3/3

Previous:

Notes: An official monetary policy statement is released by the Policy Board of the Bank of Japan. By communicating the committee��s vote outcome regarding interest rates and other policy measures as well as the economic conditions influencing their decision, the statement gives clue to future changes in monetary policy.

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AU Westpac Consumer Confidence Index

Location: Australia

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 01:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 99.7

Notes: The Westpac Consumer Confidence released by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute captures the level of sentiment that individuals have in economic activity reflecting respondents' evaluations of their family finances over the past and coming year, expectations about the one-year and five-year economic conditions and views about current buying conditions for major household items. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

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AU Westpac Consumer Confidence

Location: Australia

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 01:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 0.3%

Notes: The Westpac Consumer Confidence released by the Faculty of Economics and Commerce Melbourne Institute captures the level of sentiment that individuals have in economic activity reflecting respondents' evaluations of their family finances over the past and coming year, expectations about the one-year and five-year economic conditions and views about current buying conditions for major household items. Generally speaking, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

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JP Merchandise Trade Balance Total

Location: Japan

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 00:50

Strength: 2/3

Previous: -��1446.3B

Notes: The Merchandise Trade Balance Total released by the Ministry of Finance is a measure of balance amount between import and export. A positive value shows a trade surplus while a negative value shows a trade deficit. Japan is so much dependant on exports that the Japanese economy heavily relies on a trade surplus. Therefore, any variation in the figures influences the domestic economy. If a steady demand in exchange for Japanese exports is seen, that would turn into a positive.

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UK PPI Core Output (YoY) n.s.a

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 1%

Notes: Producer Prices Index Core Output, released by National Statistics, excludes volatile items such as food and energy. The Core PPI is generally a better measure of inflation because it excludes those items whose short-term price fluctuations can distort inflationary data.

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UK Consumer Price Index (MoM)

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 0.2%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index released by the National Statistics is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of GBP is dragged down by inflation. The CPI is a key indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the GBP, while a low reading is seen as negative (or Bearish).

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UK Consumer Price Index (YoY)

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 1.6%

Notes: The Consumer Price Index released by the National Statistics is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. The purchase power of GBP is dragged down by inflation. The CPI is a key indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the GBP, while a low reading is seen as negative (or Bearish).

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UK Core Consumer Price Index (YoY)

Location: United Kingdom

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 09:30

Strength: 3/3

Previous: 1.6%

Notes: The Core Consumer Price Index released by the National Statistics is a measure of price movements by the comparison between the retail prices of a representative shopping basket of goods and services. "Core" excludes seasonally volatile products such as food and energy in order to capture an accurate calculation. The CPI is a key indicator to measure inflation and changes in purchasing trends. Generally, a high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the GBP, while a low reading is seen as negative (or Bearish).

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JP Leading Economic Index

Location: Japan

Date: 20/05/2014

Time: 06:00

Strength: 2/3

Previous: 108.7

Notes: The Leading Economic Index released by the Cabinet Office is an economic indicator that consists of 12 indexes such as account inventory ratios, machinery orders, stock prices and other leading economic indicators. It shows the performance of the Japanese Economy over the short and mid-term. Generally speaking, a result above 50 is positive (or bullish) for the JPY, whereas a result below 50 is seen as bearish.

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