European announcements in focus today

January 9, 2017

A reasonably light day on the announcement front sees Europe come into focus.

Europe is releasing a number of pieces of data. These include: German Industrial Production & Trade Balance, Italian Monthly Unemployment Rate, European Sentix Investor Confidence and finally, the European Unemployment Rate. The German numbers are quite important as Germany is Europe’s largest economy. Therefore, traders look at German figures with great interest as Germany leads Europe and at times, even ‘carries’ it. They are the main providers in any bailout or money lending in Europe, so it is crucial that the German economy remains strong. The Unemployment figures are important as they reflect the strength of the jobs market of Europe. As the continent battles through its economic malaise that has hampered it for a number of years, jobs figures give an indication of possible improvement or deterioration within the EU economy.

Elsewhere, the UK is releasing Halifax HPI (House Price Index), Canada is releasing its BOC (Bank of Canada) Business Outlook, while the US are releasing Labour Market Conditions Index & Consumer Credit data.