Weekly outlook / Top 10 forex events: October 25-29

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The FNN team has prepared a list of the top 10 economic events most likely to impact currency market trading and make realtime forex news during the coming week, Oct. 25-29.
All times are given in GMT.

• Existing home sales report (USD): Monday, 2:00 P.M. – The National Association of Realtors is set to release this report detailing the sales of previously owned homes in the U.S., an indicator of housing market conditions.

• Gross Domestic Product Quarter-on-Quarter (GBP): Tuesday, 8:30 A.M. – The U.K. Office of National Statistics will release the GDP numbers for the third quarter, expected to come in at 1.2%. The news almost always affects GBP/USD analysis.

• Consumer confidence report (USD): Tuesday, 2:00 P.M. – The Conference Board is slated to release its monthly survey on American consumer confidence for the month of October. Consumer confidence is a key indicator of future economic growth based on consumer spending.

• Consumer prices index (AUD): Wednesday, 12:30 A.M. – The Australian Bureau of Statistics will reveal the results of its year-on-year CPI survey, which is a key indicator of inflation. The current figure is 3.1%.

• Durable goods orders for September (USD): Wednesday, 12:30 P.M. – The U.S. Census Bureau will unveil the durable goods orders report for September at 12:30 P.M.  The report gauges the purchase of durable goods, which tend to cost more and thus represent a significant component of consumer spending combined with consumer confidence in the economy.

• RBNZ rate decision (NZD): Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is due announce a decision on whether to alter its benchmark interest rate, which is expected to hold steady at 3 percent. The central bank will also issue a statement explaining the move by referring to current economic conditions; FX traders are likely to scrutinize the comments for clues to future monetary policy moves.

• BOJ rate decision (JPY): Thursday, 12:00 A.M. – The Bank of Japan is set to announce its decision to either lower, increase, or maintain the current interest rate in the country. The surge in the yen in 2010 may result in the Bank of Japan considering action regarding the interest rate that could be revealed in the announcement.

• German unemployment change (EUR): Thursday, 7:55 A.M. – The German Labor Agency is slated to announce the latest change in the country’s unemployment rate. This news will impact EUR/USD analysis because Germany is the largest single component of the euro zone economy, and thereby the strength of the euro.

• Gross Domestic Product annualized (USD): Friday, 12:30 P.M. – The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will announce the annualized GDP figures for the U.S. economy. This figure is the most comprehensive measure of the strength of the economy as a whole and usually confirms or upsets economic expectations in the market when released..

• University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (USD): Friday, 1:55 P.M. – Released monthly by the University of Michigan, the CSI is a measure of consumer sentiment and is often viewed as a leading indicator of future economic performance in the U.S.