Fundamental Economic Reports in Bitcoin Trading: Major Market Movers !!!

The following Economic Reports are the most closely followed Economic Report in the Forex and market. These data reports will cause market volatility once they're announced, meaning there will be some pip movement in currency pairs and other ==22==financialtrading instruments such as Bitcoin after these news data reports are announced. The amount of pip movement will depend on the volatility rating of each news data reports, news marked with importance of three exclamation marks cause high volatility, followed by those of 2 exclamation marks & then those of 1 exclamation mark.

Most investors will mainly trade 3 and 2 exclamation mark news, as these reports will generally cause between $100 and $200 movement once these news reports are announced.

The news reports followed by traders are shown below & reports of the news data figures can be found within a Financial Economic Calendar.

Employment Report

Importance: !!!
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
News Report Release Time: First Friday of the month at 8:30 EST, reports info for the prior month

The employment data report survey produces the Non Farm payrolls, Average Work Week, & Average Hourly Earnings figures, to name a few. Both surveys cover the pay-roll period.

Non-Farm PayrollsThe single most important piece of data contained in the employment report generally & the establishment survey particularly is Non-Farm Payrolls. As the name implies, Non-Farm Payrolls measure the No. of people on the payrolls of all the non-agricultural businesses. The monthly changes in the payrolls can be quite volatile, occasionally varying and differing by more than 200K from one month to the next. Non-Farm Payrolls figures offer the most timely and comprehensive snapshot of the economic environment, these is a measure of American Middle Class and this figure translates to people withwho--have money & are ready to spend. American economy is highly fueled by consumerism with about 75% of GDP driven by consumers; the higher the Non-Farm Payrolls number the more the consumers.

Average Work WeekThe Work Week, also known as hours worked, is an often under rated fundamental indicator in the establishment survey. The average number of the hours worked by employees on the Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) is an important determinant of both industrial production and personal income in any given month.

Average Hourly EarningsThe last fundamental indicator from the establishment survey which is worthy of close inspection is the Hourly Average Earnings, which's important for two explanations. Alongside total man-hours, the average earnings figure gives us a good indication of personal income growth during that month. Second, the earnings figures are closely watched during periods of strong economic growth for evidence of increasing wage pressures.

Unemployment RateUnemployment Rate - % of employable individuals actively searching for employment, out of the total No. of employable individuals determined in a monthly survey by Bureau of Labor Statistics.

An unemployment rate of about 4% - 6% is considered "healthy". Lower rates are seen as inflationary due to the upward pressure on salaries; higher rates threaten a decrease in consumer spending.

Jobless ClaimsJobless Claims - A weekly compilation data report of the No. of individuals who signed up & filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. This fundamental fundamental indicator, & more importantly, its four-week moving average, portrays the employment situation in the labor market.

Jobless claims are an easy way to rate the power of the job market. The fewer individuals filing for the unemployment benefits, the more the people having jobs, & that tells traders a great deal about the economic environment.

Nearly every job comes with an income which gives a household the spending power. Spending is what greases the wheels of the economy and keeps the economy growing, so the stronger the job hiring, the healthier the economic environment.

By tracking the No. of the jobless claims, investors can gain an idea of how the job market is performing. If wage inflation threatens, it's a good bet that interest rates will rise, bond and stock prices will fall, & the only investors who will be in a happy mood will be the ones that tracked the jobless claims and adjusted their trade portfolios to anticipate these events. The lower the No. of unemployment claims, the stronger the job hiring is, & vice versa.

Gross Domestic Product - GDP

Importance: !!!
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.
News Report Release Time: Third or fourth week of the month at 8:30 EST for the previous quarter

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest measure of the economic activity. Annualized quarterly % changes in the GDP reflect the growth rate of the total economic output. These figures can be quite volatile from one quarter to the next quarter. Inventory and net export swings in particular can produce major volatility in the GDP. The final sales figure, which excludes inventories, can sometimes be useful in identifying under-lying growth trends as the inventories represent unsold goods, & a big inventory increase will boost GDP but may be indicative of weakness rather than power. The broad components of GDP are: consumption, investment, net exports, government purchases, & inventories. Consumption is by far the biggest component, totaling two thirds of the GDP.

Retail Sales report

Importance: !!!
Source: The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.
News Report Release Time: 8:30 EST around the 13^th of the month (data for one month prior).

The retail sales data report is a measure of the total receipts of the retail stores. The changes in the sales data are widely followed as the most timely trading indicator of broad consumer spending patterns. Retail sales are often viewed ex-autos, because the auto sales numbers can vary sharply from month to month. ==22==It--isIt'sIt--is also important to keep a close watch on the gas and food components, because changes in these two reports are often a result of price change rather than changing consumer demand.

Retail sales can be quite volatile and the advance reports are subject to rather large revisions. Retail sales do not include spending on services, which makes up over half of the total consumption. Total personal consumption isn't available until the personal income and consumption reports are released, typically 2 weeks after the retail sales reports.

Housing Starts & Building Permits

Importance: !!!
Source: The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce
News Report Release Time: 8:30 EST around the 16^th of the month (data for one month prior).

Housing Starts are a measure of the No. of residential units on which construction has begun each month. A begin in construction is defined as the start of excavation of the foundation for a building & is comprised primarily of residential housing. Building permits are permits taken out in order to allow excavation. An increase in building permits and starts usually occurs a couple of months after a reduction in the mortgage rates. Permits lead the starts, but permits are not required in all regions of the country, & the level of permits hence tends to be lesser than the level of the starts over time.

Existing Home Sales

Importance: !!
Source: National Association of Realtors.
News Report Release Time: 10:00 EST around the 2fifth of the month (data for the month prior).

The name explains itself - this report provides a measure of the level of sales of existing home sales. The report is considered a decent fundamental indicator of the activity in the housing sector. Housing starts precede this data report each month, but starts are a supply rather than demand side indicator. Existing home sales precede the other key demand side trading indicators of housing - new houses sales - thus boosting the visibility of the report. Sales are highly dependent on the mortgage rates, and tends to react with a couple of months lag to changes in rates. Sales are also determined by level of pent-up demand for housing - immediately after recession, sales are often strong because of the demand that accumulated through the recession.

Chicago PMI

Importance: !!!
Source: Chicago Purchasing Managers Association.
News Report Release Time: The last business day of the month at 10 EST for the current month.

Philadelphia and Chicago surveys are more closely watched and monitored due to their timeliness and the fact that these regions represent a justifiable cross section of the national manufacturing activities.

Trade BalanceThis is statement of a country's trade in goods (merchandise) & services. It covers products such as manufactured goods, raw materials & agricultural goods, as well as travel & transportation.

It is the difference between the value of the goods and services that a country exports & the value of the goods and services that it imports.

If a country's exports exceed its imports, it has got a trade surplus & the balance is said to be positive. If imports exceed exports, the country has got a deficit and its trade balance is said to be negative.

A positive or negative balance might simply reflect a change in the relative cost of the domestic products compared with international prices. For industries that rely heavily on exports, such as the auto sector, a positive balance may reflect a higher international demand, which can mean more jobs in that industry.

Purchasing Managers Index PMIPurchasing Managers Index (PMI) - National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM), now called the Institute for Supply Management, releases a monthly composite index of the national manufacturing conditions, constructed from information on new trade orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, export orders, and import orders.It is divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing sub-indices.

Producer Price Index PPIProducer Price Index (PPI) - PPI is a measure of the average price level for a fixed basket of capital and consumer goods paid by producers.

PPI gauges price changes in the manufacturing industry sector. It measures average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers in the manufacturing, mining, agriculture, & electricity utility industries for their output.

Inflation at this producer level often gets passed through to the Consumer Price Index - CPI.

The relationship between inflation and interest rates is the key to understanding how information like the PPI influence the markets & your investments.

Philadelphia Fed SurveyPhiladelphia Fed Survey - A composite diffusion index of manufacturing factors and conditions within the Philadelphia Federal Reserve district.

This survey is widely followed as an indicator of manufacturing sector trends since it is correlated with the ISM survey and the index of industrial production.

The Philly Fed survey gives and generates a thorough look at the manufacturing industry sector, how busy it is & where things are headed. Because manufacturing is a major sector of the over-all economy, this report has got a big influence on the currency prices behavior.

Some of the Philly Fed sub-indexes also provide insight on commodity prices & other clues on inflation.

Personal IncomePersonal Income - Personal income is the dollar amount of the income received from all the sources by individuals. Personal outlays include consumer purchases of durable & non-durable goods & services.

The income & outlays info are another handy way to gauge the power of the economic environment and where it's headed. Income provides households the power to spend and/or save.

Spending greases the wheels of the economy and keeps it growing. The consumption (outlays) part of the data report is even more directly tied to the economic environment, which we know normally dictate and influence how the markets perform.

Consumer spending contributes & accounts for two thirds of the over-all economy, so if you know what the consumers are doing, you will have a pretty good handle on where the economic environment is headed. Needless to say, that is a big advantage for traders.

New home salesNew home sales - The No. of newly constructed homes with a committed sale during that month. Level of new home sales indicates housing price trends.

This provides a gauge and measure of not only the demand for housing, but the economic force. People have to be feeling comfortable and confident in their financial position to buy and purchase a house.

Furthermore, this narrow piece of info has got a powerful multiplier effect through the economic environment, and hence across the markets & your investments.

By tracking economic info like new home sales, investors can gain specific investment ideas as well as broad guidance for managing a portfolio.

Each time the construction of a new house starts, it translates to additional/more construction jobs, & income which will be pumped back in to the economy.

Once the home is sold, it generates revenues for the home builder and the realtor. Trends in the new home sales info carry valuable/informative clues for the stocks of construction builders, mortgage lenders & furnishings firms.

Money supplyMoney supply - The monetary aggregates are alternative gauges of the money supply by degree of liquidity. Changes in the monetary aggregates indicate the thrust of monetary policy and also the outlook for economic activity and inflationary pressures.

The monetary aggregates (know individually as M1, M2 & M3) used to be all the rage a couple of years back because the data revealed the Fed's (tight or loose) hold on the credit conditions in the economic environment.

Fed issues target ranges for money supply growth. In the past, if the actual growth moved outside those ranges it often was a prelude/precursor to an interest rate move by the Fed.

Today, monetary policy is understood more clearly by level of the federal funds rate. Money supply fell out of vogue in the nineties, due to a variety of changes in the financial system ==22==and the way the Fed Reserve conducts monetary policy.

The Fed is working on some new gauges of money supply, and given the way economic indicators ebb & flow in popularity, do not be surprised if the monetary aggregates make a comeback in the future.

International TradeMeasures the difference between imports & exports of both tangible goods and services. Level of the international trade balance, as well as changes in exports and imports, reflect trends in foreign trade.

Changes in the level of imports and exports, along with the difference between the two (the balance) are a valuable gauge of economic trends here & abroad. Furthermore, the information can directly impact all the financial markets, but especially the forex value of the dollar.

Imports indicate demand for foreign goods and services here & the USA exports show the demand for USA goods in overseas countries. The dollar can be especially sensitive to changes in the deficit run by United States of America, since this imbalance creates greater demand for foreign currencies.

This report gives a breakdown of USA trade with major countries as well, so it can be instructive for traders who are interested in diversifying globally. For example illustration, a trend of accelerating exports to a specified country may signal economic power and investment opportunities in that country.

Industrial production & capacity utilizationIndustrial production and capacity utilization - The Index of the Industrial Production is a chain-weight measure of the physical output of a nation's factories, mines & utilities.

The capacity utilization/usage rate reflects the usage of the available resources. Traders want to keep their tabs on the performance of the economic environment because it usually dictates how various types of investments will perform.

Industrial production sHow much factories, mines and utilities are producing. Since the manufacturing industry sector accounts for one-quarter of the over-all economy, this report has got a big influence on currency price behavior.

The capacity utilization/usage rate provides a measure of how much factory capacity is in use. If the utilization rate gets to high (above 85%) it can lead to inflationary bottle-necks in the production.

The Federal Reserve watches this report closely and sets interest rate policy on the basis of whether the production factors and aspects are threatening to cause inflation pressures.

Housing startsHousing starts - Housing starts measure the No. of residential units on which construction is begun every month. Home builders do not start a house unless they are fairly confident it will sell upon or before its competition.

Changes in the rate of housing starts tell us a lot about demand for homes & the overall outlook of the construction sector/industry. Furthermore, each time a new house is started, construction employment rises & income will be pumped back in to the economy.

Construction SpendingConstruction Spending - Dollar value of the new construction activity on the residential, non-residential and public projects. Data are available in nominal & real (inflation-adjusted) dollars.

Businesses only put money in to construction of new factories or offices when they are confident that the demand is strong enough to justify the extension.

The same goes for the people making the investment in a home. That is why construction spending is a good fundamental indicator of the over-all economy's momentum.

Consumer Confidence IndexConsumer Confidence Index - Survey of consumer attitudes concerning both the current situation & also their expectations in regards to the economic conditions carried out by The Conference Board. Five thousand consumers across the country are surveyed each month.

The level of consumer confidence is directly proportional to the power of consumer spending. Consumer spending contributes & accounts for two thirds of the over-all economy, so the markets are always dying to know what consumers are up to and how they may behave in the near future.

The more confident consumers are about the economy and their own personal finances, the more likely they are to spend.

With this in mind, it's easy to see how this index of the consumer attitudes gives an insight to the sentiment of the economic environment. Changes in consumer confidence & retail sales do not move in tandem month by month.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)Consumer Price Index (CPI) - Measure of the average price level of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers. Monthly changes in the CPI represent the rate of inflation.

The CPI is the most followed fundamental indicator of inflation in the United States of America. Inflation is an overall increase in the price of goods and services. The relationship between inflation & interest rates is the key to understanding how data like the CPI influence the markets.

By tracking the market trends in inflation, whether high or low, rising or falling, traders can anticipate how various types of investments will perform.

Durable goods orderThe durable goods orders reflect the new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for immediate & future delivery of factory hardwoods. Orders for durable goods show how busy the factories will be in the months to come, as manufacturers work to fill the orders. The data not only provides insight to demand for things like refrigerators and cars, but also business investment going forward.

If companies commit to spending more on equipment & other capital, they're obviously experiencing sustainable growth in their biz. Increased expenditures on investment goods set the stage for greater productive capacity in the country and reduce the prospects for inflation. It tells traders what to expect from the manufacturing industry sector, a major component of the economy and hence a major influence on their investments.

Existing home salesExisting home sales - The No. of previously constructed homes with a closed sale during that month. Also known as home resales) are a large share of the market than new homes & indicate housing price trends. This provides a gauge and measure of not only demand for housing, but the economic force.

People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their financial position to buy and purchase a house. Even though home resales don't always create new output, once the home is sold, it generates incomes/revenues for the realtor.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)The sum of all goods & services produced either by domestic or foreign firms. GDP shows the pace at which a country's economy is growing (or shrinking) & is considered the broadest fundamental indicator of economic output and growth. Traders need to closely monitor the economic environment because it usually dictates how their investments will perform.

The GDP report contains a treasure-trove of information which not only paints an image of the over-all economy, but tells traders about important trends within the big picture. GDP constituents like consumer spending, business & residential investments and price (inflation) indexes illuminate the economy's under-currents, which can translate to investment opportunities & guidance in managing a portfolio.

Retail Prices IndexRetail Prices Index - The Retail Price Index is the UK's principal measure of consumer price inflation. It is defined as an average measure of change in the prices of goods and services brought for the purpose of consumption by vast majority of households in United Kingdom.

It is complied and published monthly. Once published, it is never revised. Retail Price Index includes date on food & drink, tobacco, housing, household goods and services, personal goods & services, transport fares, motoring costs, clothing and leisure goods & services.

Measures of inflation are vital tools for economists, business and government. Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee sets United Kingdom interest rates on the basis of a targeted figure for inflation rate set by Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Wage agreements, pensions & change in the benefit levels are often linked directly to Retail Price Index. Utility regulators impose restrictions on the price moves based on the Retail Price Index.

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Fundamental Economic Reports in Bitcoin Trading: Major Market Movers !!!