Weekly outlook / Top 10 GBP/USD events: Oct. 11-15

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The FNN team has prepared a list of the top 10 economic events most likely to impact GBP/USD and make realtime forex news during the coming week, Oct. 11-15.

All times are given in GMT.

1. BRC like-for-like retail sales (GBP): Monday, 11:01 P.M. – The British Retail Consortium, a trade group, is due to publish this monthly report, which measures the year-on-year change in the value of retail sales; as such, the data is a useful measure of consumer spending.
2. Consumer price index (GBP): Tuesday, 8:30 A.M. – Britain’s statistics bureau is scheduled to publish this key report on U.K. consumer price inflation in September. The report is examined by the Bank of England while considering its interest rate decisions; as such, it is usually subject to intense indicator analysis in the online FX trading community.
3. Trade balance (GBP): Tuesday, 8:30 – Britain’s statistics bureau is scheduled to publish this monthly report on the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services in August.
4. FOMC meeting minutes (USD): Tuesday, 6:00 P.M. – The U.S. Fed’s key panel, the Federal Open Markets Committee, is to release the minutes of its latest policy-setting meeting.
5. Bernanke speaks (USD): Wednesday, 8:10 A.M. – The U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, is slated to speak at an event in Pittsburgh. FX traders will seek to discern clues to future monetary policy moves in the central bank chief’s comments.
6. Jobless claims change (GBP): Wednesday, 8:30 A.M. – The U.K. statistics bureau is to publish data on the change in the number of new claims for unemployment benefits in September.
7. Trade balance (USD): Thursday, 12:30 P.M. – The Bureau of Economic Analysis is scheduled to publish this monthly report on the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services; Canada will also publish its trade balance. Meanwhile, the U.S. is also due to publish data on producer price inflation.
8. Initial jobless claims (USD): Thursday, 12:30 P.M. – The Department of Labor is due to release this data on the number of workers who filed new claims for jobless benefits during the previous week. The report is often quite influential on the dollar’s FX rate.
9. Core CPI (USD): Friday, 12:30 P.M. – The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to publish this key report on U.S. consumer price inflation, which excludes food and energy. The data is central in setting interest rates and is an important measure of purchasing power.
10. Retail sales (USD): Friday, 12:30 P.M. – The U.S. Census Bureau is due to release this report on the month-on-month change in such sales. The data is a key gauge of consumer spending. Later in the day, the University of Michigan will release a closely followed survey of U.S. consumer sentiment.