Today is a busy day as far as announcements are concerned. The US and China both dominate proceedings. There are also figures set to be announced on Saturday as well.

Later today/tomorrow morning, the US are releasing a slew of data, including Core Retail Sales, Producer Price Index (PPI), Retail Sales, Federal Budget Balance and Prelim UoM (University of Michigan) Consumer Sentiment. These figures are important as they reflect the general confidence of the US consumer. Confident consumers are often more likely to spend their disposable income. Consumer spending means revenue for business, which can turn into business expansion, which in turn can mean more employment opportunities. Consumer spending also means more tax revenue collected by the government, which can be used to pay day national debt or the funding over government programs.

Also of importance from the US are speeches set to be given by FOMC (Fed Reserve) member Eric Rosengren later tonight and Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen tomorrow morning. While they are not interest rate meetings, they can give traders an insight into their thinking when it comes to the health of the economy and their monetary policy decisions.

After the substantial miss in the Chinese Trade Balance yesterday, traders will be looking to today’s release of CPI and PPI figures for some positive news from the world’s second largest economy. These figures are important for the same reason as those mentioned above for the US – consumer confidence.

Elsewhere, there are a few things happening in the UK. Today they are releasing Construction Output figures as well as the BOE (Bank of England) Credit Conditions survey. These releases are both important as they both can give an indication of the underlying strength of the UK economy.

Speeches are also set to be given by UK Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Member Kristin Forbes and also BOE Governor Mark Carney (originally slated for yesterday/early this morning). As with the Fed speakers, these are not interest rate meetings, but can provide important insights into the thinking of both individuals.