Tuesday's Upcoming Economic Calendar

On the upcoming economic calendar for Tuesday, January 6th, there are six top tier releases scheduled.

The first to be released will be the Nationwide house price index at 02:00 from Great Britain. This report gauges the costs of homes in the United Kingdom. The figure is based on surveyors' opinions on the state of the market, calculated as is the percent of surveyors reporting a rise in prices minus those reporting a fall. A fall in house prices indicates a weak housing market, which generally reflects a weakening overall economy. Analysts are expecting a reading of -1.5 percent for the month.

Then, at 04:30, the U.K. will release the services PMI. This release measures the activities of purchasing managers, who are surveyed on production, employment, inventories, orders, and delivery statistics. As an indicator of economic performance the PMI has the ability to easily affect currency valuations as Institutions re-align existing positions, or build new, on the strength of these reports. Expectations are for the reading to come in steady at 42.0 which is the same as the previous months reading.

At 10:00 from the United States there will be two important announcements made simultaneously. First will be the ISM non-manufacturing PMI. This release is similar to the PMI numbers, which surveys purchasing managers on their sentiment on orders, hiring, inventories, and deliveries. A currency can be very reactive to these numbers as over time they have been a reliable read on Government reports to come. Analysts have expected this number to come in slightly lower than last month's reading of 37.3 to 36.9.

The pending home sales numbers will also be released; this report is an ever increasing and valuable indicator due to the fact that it tells a great deal about the underlying health of the economy and consumer sentiment. Home sales are also important due to what is called the multiplier effect. Once a house is bought, it must be decorated and furnished in turn creating work for construction workers, retail sales people, and manufacturers; not to mention tax revenues for local and state municipalities. Of course if sales are expected to be down, which they are, this stifles economic growth. Analysts are expecting a fall from the previous number of -0.7 percent to a -0.9 percent.

At 14:00 the Federal Open Market Committee will be releasing a detailed record of the most recent meeting. This will provide in-depth insights into what economic conditions led to the decision of the committee's members.

Lastly, at 19:30 Australia will be releasing the retail sales trend. Retail sales are the measure of the total sales of goods and services by retail stores in Australia. Retail sales are an important measure of consumer spending and inflationary pressures. Steady increases in retail sales apply significant inflationary pressures to consumer prices. With retail trade being the foremost indicator for consumer spending, this figure is extremely important in understanding the Australian economy. Economists are expecting retail sales to come in slightly lower this month, at 0.1 percent.

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