Categories
Forex Market

The Economic Calendar and Why It’s So Darn Interesting

Today we’ll go with an entry about a tool that interests a lot of you, the economic calendar, and its impact on Forex trading. It is constantly updated so that you have access depending on the day you are looking at it. To get started, let’s see what this tool is and why I tell you that it is a tool that should interest you a lot if you trade in currencies (or any other type of asset).

Index

  • What is the economic calendar?
  • Is a Forex calendar important?
  • When should I look at the economic agenda?
  • What is important in a macroeconomic calendar?
  • Trading based on macroeconomic data.
  • Technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and the economic agenda.
  • Where to look for Forex news data
  • Publication of macroeconomic data
  • Global indices and commodities
  • How do I use the economic calendar?
  1. What is the economic calendar?

An economic calendar, as its very name indicates, reflects when and what economic issues will be published globally. It can be the decision of interest rates on the part of a country, indices production prices, balance of trade, economic events. In short, it shows you any event that could affect the economy and the financial markets.

  1. Is a Forex calendar important?

As you know, in the Forex market (as in all) price movements are impacted by the news, macroeconomic data, government decisions, and more. Therefore to follow an economic agenda allows us to know when the greatest movements in the market will take place. We can even use this to not do trading or even as some traders do, do news trading.

  1. When should I look at the economic agenda?

Depending on the frequency of your trading, if you do swing trading (trades that last several days) it may have little relevance in your trade and just look at it once or twice a week. If on the contrary, your operation is more aggressive, reviewing the economic calendar each day can give you an optimal point of view of the market. You know, more day trading, more focus, which is something that doesn’t sell much but that’s there.

  1. What is important in a macroeconomic calendar?

If you take a look at the agenda above you will see that many days have published enough data and many of them are not very important. This you can set to stay only with those that are really important. Even sometimes, those that are a priori important generate little movement in the market. Still, don’t trust yourself.

  1. Trading based on macroeconomic data.

It is very popular to read or listen to some traders say they trade forex with news. What they look for with it when there is high volatility is to gain a lot in a very short time. Careful, the message sounds very nice but the reality is not so much. High risk is also something to calibrate well, in addition, to stop loss sweeps, landslides when entering the market. You must keep these issues in mind.

  1. Technical analysis, fundamental analysis, and the economic agenda.

Whether you do technical analysis or fundamental analysis, the economic agenda really matters. You might think that since you do technical analysis, you don’t care about this whole macroeconomic news thing. You can really do that in part, but to follow the market keep them present or you can get some upset. If you’re in a pretty big position within the pound and there’s news about the UK Brexit referendum, this may annoy you, to put it mildly.

If you focus or are focused on fundamental analysis to make buying and selling decisions you will know the importance of following the macro calendar and will work with economic data as a source to make your decisions. 

  1. Where to look for Forex news data

On this very page, up. In addition, there are other well-known ones such as Investing, FXstreet, and different portals where you can see these types of calendars, each with a different style. In the end, it’s a matter of taste, choose the one you like the most and where you feel comfortable. The source of the data is usually the same.

  1. Publication of macroeconomic data

Some people are obsessed with when this data is published to buy or sell based on how good or bad this data has been. Error. Two points:

In free portals the publication of the data is done with some delay and to avoid this we should hire platforms like Bloomberg (it is a paste to keep them for the independent investor and do not make much sense). But even so, today the execution of orders mostly goes by algorithms. In the time it takes to observe the data, you open the broker and place an order, the algorithm may even have already closed the position. Focus your goal on other more profitable patterns.

Another thing, do you think that just because a piece of data is better than expected, it’s gonna benefit an asset that goes up or vice versa? The answer is no. Sometimes this is discounted on the price already or the data is good but worse than expected. If you are a retail trader, I recommend that you do not enter this war unless you are very clear about it.

  1. Global indices and commodities

You may wonder if this agenda is only for the Forex market or has any use in the case of trading in indices or commodities. Macro data from China without going any further are moving most of the world indices. Events in the United States cause major markets, including European indices, to be affected both positively and negatively.

Another example is oil, which in turn has a direct relationship in some currency pairs due to the countries where it is traded and where there are large reserves. The publication of oil inventories is very important data that is taken into account by investors and traders. In the end, they affect the asset or country in question, either directly or indirectly, and it is important to have control of its publication so that you do not get caught out of play.

  1. How do I use the economic calendar?

I’ll tell you how I use the economic calendar and how you can use it yourself. If you do algorithmic trading as is my case, that is, you have automated in and out of market operations, you can carry out different actions:

-Create strategies that avoid operating at times where high-impact news is published for markets (for example, on Fridays at midday).

-Adjust systems to market volatility. We can calibrate the amount and distance to stop loss based on price variability. If it is high, it is advisable to leave more distant stops so that you do not jump at the first change with strong movements. Indicators like the ATR (Average True Range) for example can help you in this.

-Disconnect systems when there are Brexit events or important government decisions at any given time.

Beyond that you can design them yourself according to your preferences, here are some ideas. In a habitual way, apart from this type of facts, I use the economic agenda like this: the weekend where I usually look at what publications there will be in the next days and every morning when I wake up where I review only the data and the next hours (of that day).

Don’t worry if you can’t stay on the screen because you work or are busy. In addition to the Internet browser you normally use, there are mobile apps that allow you to view them. In fact, you can already do it from your smartwatch. It’s not that you’re obsessed with constantly refreshing the page or app to see what’s going on, just remember that it’s all about having control.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

Importance of ‘Lending Rate’ News Announcement on the Forex market

Introduction

The ease with which money can be obtained within a country primarily drives the business sector and consumer spending. Consumer Spending and Businesses mostly make up the GDP of a country. Hence, understanding Lending Rates and its impact on the economy can help us build our fundamental analysis better.

What is Lending Rate?

Lending Rate: The rate at which a bank or a financial institution charges its customers for lending money. It is the fee that is to be paid by the customer for the borrowed money. Bank Lending Rate, in general, is the Bank Prime Rate.

Bank Prime Rate: It is the rate of interest that banks charge their most creditworthy customers. It is the lowest interest rate at which banks generally gives out loans. On the receiving end usually are large corporations with a good track record with the concerned bank. Generally, the loans taken are also huge.

Other forms of loans like house mortgage, vehicle loans, or personal loans, are all either partly or wholly based on the prime rate. It is also important to note that the Central Bank’s interest rates set the bank lending rate. For the United States, the Federal Reserve’s, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) determines the target fed funds rate.  Fed funds rate will ultimately influence all the Bank lending rates on account of competition.

How can the Lending Rate numbers be used for analysis?

Banks and financial institutions are the primary source of money for businesses and consumers across the country. Hence, Bank Lending Rates can mainly drive business direction and influence consumer spending.

The Central Banks will influence the interest rates through their open-market operations in the inter-bank market by purchasing or selling bonds. When Central Banks buy bonds, they inject money into the economy, thereby effectively inducing inflation. It is popularly referred to as the “Dovish” approach. When the Central Bank sells bonds, it is effectively withdrawing money from the economy, making money scarce and costly to borrow. It is popularly referred to as the “Hawkish” approach.

When the Central Bank wants to deflate the economy, they will sell bonds, and when they decide to inflate, they will effectively buy bonds. In the private sector, Consumer Spending makes up about two-thirds of the United States’ GDP, and the rest is mostly by the business sector. The ease with which money is made available to people and business organisations affects the economy in a big way.

When lending rates are low, businesses can procure loans easily; they can run, maintain, and expand their current businesses. On the other hand, when the lending rates are high, only the high-end companies can procure loans. Meanwhile the rest of the business struggle to stay afloat in the deflationary environment. Businesses would be forced to keep their expansionary plans on halt when loan rates are high.

Consumers are also encouraged to take on loans when the rates are low. It promotes consumer spending, which, in turn, boosts local business. On the other hand, when interest rates are high, consumers would tend to save more spend less. When spending is less, businesses also slow down, especially sectors that do business with non-essentials like entertainment, luxury, or recreation.

On the international scale, the lending rates and deposit rates of banks from different countries also drive the flow of speculative money from international investors. When the lending rate in one country’s bank is lower than the deposit rate in another country’s bank, investors can generate revenue through a “carry.” Investors will borrow from the low-yielding currency bank and deposit in the high-yielding currency bank. The difference between these two rates is the margin they make.

The above plot shows the actual plot between the interest rates differential (AUS IR – USA IR) and the AUD USD exchange rate. As we can see, whenever the difference between the interest rates rises in favour of AUD, the exchange rate tends to follow. There is a strong correlation between both in the long run.

Since the Central Bank’s interest rates primarily determine all the lending rates (all types), investors generally calculate interest rate differentials by subtracting interest rates of two countries to see potential “carry” opportunities. Hence, when low-interest rates are prevalent, currencies lose value, on account of inflation and also outflow of money into other countries where deposit rates are higher.

Overall, the lending rates and deposit rates together move the currency markets in favour of the country’s currency, having higher deposit rates.

 Impact on Currency

The underlying Central Bank interest rates influence lending rates. The market is more sensitive to Central Bank interest rate changes than the bank lending rates. The lending rates of banks are also not as immediate as the Central Bank’s interest rate changes. Hence, although lending rates impact the economy, its effects are only apparent after about 10-12 months.

Hence, Lending rates are a low-medium impact indicator in the currency markets, as the leading indicator Central Bank interest rates take precedence over bank lending and deposit rates.

Economic Reports

The lending rates of banks can be found from the respective banks from which we would want to borrow money. For the United States, the Federal Reserve publishes Monday to Friday the daily Interest Rates in its H.15 report at 4:15 PM on its official website. Weekly, Monthly, Semi-annual, and Annual rates of the same are also available. The average Bank Prime Rates are also available in the same report.

Sources of Lending Rate

The United States Fed Fund Rates are available here. The prim Bank Loan Rate is available in a more consolidated and illustrative way for our analysis in the St. Louis FRED website. Consolidated Bank Lending Interest Rates of different countries are available here.

How Lending Rates Affects Price Charts

The lending rates can either create expansionary or contractionary effects within an economy.  Let’s now have a look at how it affects the price action in the forex market. In the US, lending rates entirely depend on the Federal Reserve’s Fund Rate. On March 4, 2020, the lending rates were cut from 4.75% to 4.25%. This cut coincided with the Federal Reserves’ interest rate cut from 1.75% to 1.25% on March 3.

On March 16, 2020, the lending rates were reduced from 4.25% to 3.25%. This cut coincided with the Federal Reserves’ interest rate cut from 1.25% to 0.25% on March 15.

For this reason, the lending rates rarely affect the price action in the forex markets.

In the US, the Bank Prime rate is published every weekday at 4.15 PM ET. Below is a screengrab from the US Federal Reserve showing the latest bank prime rates.

As can be seen, the rate has remained at 3.25% from March 16, 2020. For this analysis, we will consider if the change on March 16, 4.15 PM ET from 4.25% to 3.25% had any effect on the price action of selected currency pairs.

EUR/USD: Before Lending Rate Change on March 16, 2020, 
Just Before 4.15 PM ET

Between 10.00 AM and 4.00 PM ET, the EUR/USD pair was on a neutral trend. This neutral trend is shown on the 15-minute chart above with bullish and bearish candles forming slightly above the flattening 20-period Moving Average.

EUR/USD: After Lending Rate Change on March 16, 
2020, 4.15 PM ET

As shown by the chart above, the EUR/USD pair formed a slightly bullish 15-minute candle after the daily release of the lending rates. As earlier mentioned, the release of the lending rates is not expected to have any significant impact on the price action. This sentiment is further supported by the lack of change in the prevailing trend after the news release since the pair continued trading on a neutral stance.

GBP/USD: Before Lending Rate Change on March 16, 2020, 
Just Before 4.15 PM ET

The GBP/USD pair showed a similar neutral trading pattern as the EUR/USD pair between 1.00 PM and 4.00 PM ET. This pattern can be seen on the above 15-minute chart with candles forming on the flat 20-period Moving Average.

GBP/USD: After Lending Rate Change on March 16, 
2020, 4.15 PM ET

After the news release, the pair formed a slightly bearish 15-minute candle but continued trading in the earlier neutral trend.

NZD/USD: Before Lending Rate Change on March 16, 2020, 
Just Before 4.15 PM ET

NZD/USD: After Lending Rate Change on March 16, 
2020, 4.15 PM ET

Unlike the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD pairs, the NZD/USD pair had a steady downtrend between 12.15 PM and 4.00 PM ET. After the release of the daily lending rates, the pair formed a bullish 15-minute candle, but just like the other pairs, the news was not significant enough to change the prevailing market trend.

As we noticed earlier, the lending rates move in tandem with the Federal funds rate. Since the lending rates have always remained unchanged in the market and forex traders have anticipated this, hence the lack of volatility accompanying the news release.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

Impact of ‘Bankruptcies’ News Release On The Forex Assets

Introduction

A bankruptcy on paper and in reality differ in several meaningful ways. The short and long-term implications both have to be fully taken into the picture before forming an opinion or drawing any inference from the Bankruptcy statistics. Contrary to popular belief, it is not as bad as it sounds and is more frequent for businesses to file for bankruptcy as a means to reset their business to become profitable. Correctly understanding bankruptcy, its implications, and its statistics can help us make better trade decisions in the long run.

What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is the legal state of an individual or a company that has become insolvent. When an individual or a company is unable to repay its debt, it can file a petition for bankruptcy in the federal court. When individuals lose their income source or when a business takes on continued periods of losses are likely to file bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy process starts when a petition is filed by the debtor or the creditor, although it is more common for the debtors to file for bankruptcy. Successful processing of a bankruptcy petition can benefit the debtor to be discharged of their debts, thus giving them the freedom from the overburdening debts and restart.

When a bankruptcy petition is processed, the assets of the debtor are evaluated, and an appropriate portion may be allotted to repay the creditors. Whether all of the assets are sold off to repay debt or not depends on the types of bankruptcies filed. Many a time, creditors may need to reorganize the debt to allow the debtor to pay off the debt in smaller installments over three to five years.

How can the Bankruptcies numbers be used for analysis?

On paper, all this may seem favorable to the debtor offering immediate relief from the overwhelming debts.  The debtor may not be required to pay at all if the debtor does not have assets or income or at least greatly waive off their debt installments. Successful proceeding of a bankruptcy petition can partially or entirely waive off debts for a chance to save your home or business from going-under.

Such an exemption comes at a cost, though. As mentioned, on paper, it seems like a favorable option for the debtor in a tight spot, but in the long-run, it has far-reaching implications. If a debtor is filing bankruptcy, chances are, their credit score has already gone wrong due to failed payment dues in past months. When the bankruptcy is filed, it will stay on the record of that individual or company for ten years. In this process, the credit rating goes low, and a remark of bankruptcy on record prevents you from being eligible for future credits, loans, mortgages, or even credit cards.

When lending sources are all cut off, then it is challenging for both individuals and businesses to become profitable. Some may even end up borrowing from sources where interest rates are much higher than the standard rates, ending up in deeper trouble than before.

Filing bankruptcy is more frequent for businesses to reorganize their remaining assets and come up with a new strategy to be profitable. All the bankruptcy cases are handled in the federal courts by a bankruptcy judge. They are classified as per the bankruptcy code that details different chapters for different types of bankruptcy case scenarios.

From a macroeconomic perspective, bankruptcy filing gives both the debtors and creditors a fresh start by allowing debtors to be eligible for credit and creditors to recover some portion of the credit. Having such a system that can accommodate failures of individuals and companies is a sign of a fair and inclusive economy that embraces and tolerates both ups and downs of individuals and businesses.

From a purely business and growth perspective, increasing bankruptcy cases is just plain bad for the economy as it indicates businesses are shutting down, and people are losing jobs. Both of those scenarios do no good for the economic growth and contribute negatively to both growth and consumer & business sentiment within the nation. Filing of bankruptcy thrashes the equity market performance of corporations as investors lose confidence in the business.

Recessions, war-times, or times like global pandemic observe an increasing number of bankruptcy cases indicating that the economy is not faring well. Hence, from an economic standpoint, the “fewer the better” would be the goal for a prosperous economy.

Impact on Currency

Filing Bankruptcy is often the last resort for the debtor when all other options are closed. Hence, the bankruptcy statistics are backward-looking or a lagging indicator confirming an ongoing past trend which could have been deduced from the past poor performance. Bankruptcy statistics would then be useful for economic analysts for analysis but does not serve as a useful indicator either for the equity or the currency markets. Hence, bankruptcy figures could be overlooked for other leading macroeconomic indicators for the currency markets.

Economic Reports

The United States Courts provide historical data of the quarterly reports of bankruptcy filings in the country on its official website. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also maintains bankruptcy statistics for reporting members. Moody’s analytics also provide personal and corporate bankruptcy filings on their official website.

Sources of Bankruptcy Statistics

The US Courts maintain bankruptcy filings records on its website.

The OECD Bankruptcy statistics are also helpful for quick reference of the OECD member countries.

Global Bankruptcy statistics are available on Trading Economics.

Moody’s analytics also report personal bankruptcies.

How Bankruptcies’Data Release Affects The Price Charts

Estimating the exact impact of bankruptcies on an economy is hard to quantify. Since the bankruptcies data is released quarterly, its impact on the forex market tends to be negligible because the data is backward-looking. The most recent data was released on June 30, 2020, at 8.00 AM ET and can be accessed from the United States Courts website here. The historical bankruptcies’ data in the US can be accessed at the Trading Economics website.

The screengrab below is from the quarterly bankruptcies’ data from Trading Economics.

As can be seen, the total number of bankruptcies in the United States decreased to 22,482 companies in the second quarter of 2020 from 23,114 companies in the first quarter of 2020.

Now, let’s see how this release made an impact on the Forex price charts.

EUR/USD: Before the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 
Just Before 8.00 AM ET

As can be seen in the above 15-minute EUR/USD chart, the pair was trading on a weak downtrend. This trend can be affirmed since the 20- period Moving Average is decreasing in the steepness of its decline with candles forming closer to it.

EUR/USD: After the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 8.00 AM ET

After the release of the bankruptcies data, the pair formed a 15-minute “hammer” candle. This pattern indicates that the USD became weaker against the EUR. This trend is contrary to the expectations since the number of bankruptcies had declined from the previous quarter. The pair adopted a bullish stance with the candles crossing above a now rising 20-period Moving Average.

Now let’s see how this news release impacted other major currency pairs.

GBP/USD: Before the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 
Just Before 8.00 AM ET

The GBP/USD pair showed a similar weakening downtrend trend as observed with the EUR/USD pair before the release of the bankruptcies data. The 15-minute candles can be seen, forming closer to the 20- period Moving Average, whose downward steepness is decreasing.

GBP/USD: After the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 8.00 AM ET

After the news release, the pair formed a 15-minute bearish “Doji star” candle. Similar to the EUR/USD pair, GBP/USD  adopted a bullish stance with the candles crossing above a now rising 20-period Moving Average.

AUD/USD: Before the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 
Just Before 8.00 AM ET

AUD/USD: After the Quarterly Bankruptcies Data Release on August 2020, 8.00 AM ET

Unlike the downtrends observed with the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD pairs, the AUD/USD traded within a subdued neutral trend before the bankruptcies data release. The 15-minute candles were forming around an already flattened 20-period MA. After the data release, the pair formed a 15-minute bullish “Doji star” candle. It later traded in the same bullish pattern as observed in the other pairs.

Bottom Line

In the current age of the coronavirus pandemic, data on bankruptcies provide a vital indicator of the economic conditions. However, in the forex market, these data do not carry much significance, as shown by the above analyses.

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

What Does ‘Exports by Category’ Data Indicate About A Nation’s Economy?

Introduction

Export is an essential component of a country’s balance of trade. International trade is the heart of the FOREX market that constitutes the fundamental moves in currency pairs. The imbalance in various country’s balance of trade is offset by equal and opposite volatility in currencies. Hence, understanding the macroeconomic dynamics of trade relations, compositions, and how they are tied to currency values can deepen our fundamental analysis.

What are Exports by Category?

Export: It is the sale of domestically produced goods or services to the foreign market. If goods manufactured within the nation are sold to customers outside the country’s borders, it is referred to as an export. On the other hand, imports are the purchase of foreign goods or services by a country. Generally, a country exports a particular commodity because it either efficiently manufactures or is more capable than the importing country.

A country like Canada, which has abundant oil reserves, can export to countries like China, which has a massive demand for its industrial economy. Similarly, China may export electronics to other countries like the United States, as they have a competitive edge in that domain. Exports bring domestic currency into the country in exchange for produced goods and services. Imports bring in goods and services into the country and send out the domestic currency. Hence, countries must maintain a “balance” in its international trade to keep currencies in an equilibrium.

How can the Exports by Category numbers be used for analysis?

If a country’s exports exceed its imports, it is said to have a trade surplus or a positive balance of trade. On the contrary, if a country’s imports exceed its exports, it is said to have a trade deficit or negative balance of trade. Imports signify consumption, and exports signify production. In a perfect world, the trade balance would be zero, meaning a country would produce equal to what it consumes. In reality, the balances are skewed and change from time to time.

When a country exports, it accumulates wealth. Many developing economies like China have increasingly depended on exports for their economic growth. By investing heavily in optimizing its industries and resources, many developing economies could export goods at a lower price to developed economies. A trade surplus (exports exceeding imports) is generally seen as beneficial to the economy. Prolonged periods of trade surplus, drains the international market of that country’s currency, thereby increasing its valuation against other currencies.

When a currency valuation appreciates imports become cheaper as more goods can be procured per unit of currency. In general, a trade surplus is seen as beneficial, but it may not always be the case. For instance, a country might increase its imports of construction materials to develop its cities and state infrastructure. During this time, it may have a trade deficit, but later once the work is done, its exports may improve beyond its previous highs and pay off for the years it maintained a deficit.

Countries export and import in millions and billions of dollars. When a country exports goods, it does so in large quantities, and the corresponding transaction would also be significant. Such transactions amongst countries with different currencies need to be exchanged. Such exchanges in the international FOREX market occurring for fundamental reasons sets off the equilibrium.

By the natural market forces through demand and supply, currencies will come to a new equilibrium. The movement in currency values through such fundamental moves is accompanied by speculative transactions from investors and traders worldwide. Approximately 20% of all FOREX transactions occur for pure fundamental reasons while remaining occurs for speculative purposes.

Understanding the portfolio of exports a country has can help us get a fundamental idea about the underlying goods and service exports that influence currency moves. For instance, Australia depends heavily on Iron Ore exports (approximately 20%). The Iron exported is sold mainly to China and Japan. If business activity in China reduced because of some reason, a decrease in demand would reduce exports for Australia, followed by a corresponding drop in AUD currency value.

The below image depicts how AUD value against USD follows Iron Ore prices. Hence, countries that depend on fewer exports experience higher volatility than countries with a more diverse portfolio of export and imports.

Impact on Currency

The ‘Exports by Category’ is not an economic indicator but is an essential statistic to understand the country’s trade relations. The composition of exports of a country does not vary significantly every month as exports and imports are based on trade agreements and business contracts that generally last years at a stretch. Exports by Category can be used to identify which goods and services are potential influencers for currency volatility. Hence, overall it is an essential requisite for fundamental analysis but not an economic indicator.

Economic Reports

For the United States, the Census Bureau tracks all the import and export statistics on its official website. The international trades categorized based on trade partners and Categories of goods and services are also available.

Sources of Exports by Category

The Census Bureau’s International Trade Data, the Export & Import by Trade Partner, Foreign Trade has all the necessary details. Consolidated reports of Exports by Category for most countries is available on Trading Economics.

Exports by Category News Release – Impact on the Currency Market

We know that Exports is an important fundamental driver of an economy, that can significantly impact a nation’s currency. Digging deep into Exports, we can widen the heading into Exports by Category and Exports by country. In other words, the result of the two is reflected in the Exports data.

Exports by Category, not being an economic indicator, barely has any impact on the currency of an economy. Moreover, the data is based on trade contracts, due to which the numbers do not change often. Nonetheless, let us combine the Export by Category and Exports data to study the volatility change in the currency market.

Exports Report – USD

Exports by Category – United States

According to the reports, the US’s exports dropped by USD 6.6 billion from the previous month, reading USD 144.5 billion in May 2020. Looking at the Exports by Category data, all the top five categories saw a decline in Exports.

EURUSD – Before the Announcement

Below is the price chart of EURUSD on the 4H timeframe. Before the release of the Exports by Category (Exports), we see that the market is consolidating, and there is no clear trend as such. However, the market is slightly leaving lower highs and lower lows, indicating EUR weakness and USD strength.

EURUSD – After the Announcement

On the day of the news release, it is seen that the price showed bullishness in the beginning. However, it got rejected by the sellers by the end of the day.

In the following days, we can see that the market broke out from the consolidation and began to trend north, implying USD weakness and EUR strength. There certainly would be several factors to it, but one of the accountable factors can be the disappointing numbers projected by the Exports.

USDJPY – Before the Announcement

Prior to the release, we can see clearly that the USDJPY market was crashing down. However, it saw bullishness in the last week of June.

USDJPY – After the Announcement

The USDJPY price saw feeble volatility on the day the news was released. In hindsight, the market dropped and continued the predominant downtrend. This indicates that the USDJPY has negatively affected post the Exports by Category numbers.

GBPUSD – Before the Announcement

Before the report on Exports by Category, the GBPUSD market was in an evident downtrend, as represented by the trendline.

GBPUSD – After the Announcement

A day before the numbers were reported, the price aggressively broke above the trendline, indicating a reversal.

When the news released, the price tried going higher but was pushed right back down by the sellers. However, subsequently, the market did change direction and began to trend north.

Thus, it can be concluded that the market did not have an immediate effect on the prices but did have an expected outcome in the short-term. Cheers!

Categories
Forex Daily Topic Forex Fundamental Analysis

Understanding ‘Full-Time Employment’ Fundamental Forex Driver

Introduction

Full-Time Employment statistical figures are a good measure for long term economic growth. Understanding the difference between part-time and  Full-Time employment and its economic impact can help us better understand the long-term trends in economic growth.

What is a Full-Time Employment?

Employment

It is the state of having paid work. A person is considered employed if they do any work for pay or profit. People who are eligible for employment are between the age of 15 and 64 and are called the working-age population.

Full-Time Employment

As such, there is no fixed law defining and differentiating full and part-time employment. Conventionally 40 hours a week has been considered as Full-Time employment, but lately, deviations from this have been observed.

For instance, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes 35 hours or more per week as Full-Time employment. Conversely, 1 to 34 hours of work per week is considered part-time employment. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) explains Full-Time employees as those who are working for 30 or more hours a week.

How can the Full-Time Employment numbers be used for analysis?

Distinguishing between the part and Full-Time employment has benefits. Full-Time employment generally has the following benefits over part-time or contract-based employment:

Paid leaves: Full-Time employees are eligible to take leaves or vacation for which there would be no loss of pay. It is generally not applicable to part-time employees. Most part-time employees have a per hour payment. They are paid for the number of hours worked.

Healthcare plans: When an employee spends most of his life working for an organization, it is the company’s responsibility to take care of his health and well being. Full-Time employees enjoy the benefits of healthcare insurance for themselves and their family members as well. Health insurances secure employees against heavy financial losses during health emergencies. Part-time employees don’t generally have those benefits.

Pension plans: Full-Time employees are also given the benefits of retirement plans through pension funds or any other retirement scheme. It financially secures the employee in his/her old age, which is essential. Part-time employees generally do not have any such benefits and usually have to save for retirement themselves.

Job Security: During times of economic slowdown or even worse a recession, companies generally lay off their part-time and contract workforce first. Full-Time employees are their prime assets and generally are managers or professionals in the organization. Hence, Full-Time employees are generally less vulnerable to business and economic cycles.

Part-time employees could also be seasonal and find it hard to get work during off-seasons and are more vulnerable to business cycles.

It is easy to infer that the standard of living of Full-Time employees is generally better than that of their counterparts. As employees feel more financially secure in a Full-Time job, their spending habits would reflect the same. Credit eligibility also is more for Full-Time employees over part-time ones. Hence, in the long run, much of the consumer spending would likely be coming from Full-Time employees.

No one seeks part-time employment voluntarily, and no one wants to sit idle during certain quarters of a year. When companies are making long term progress in their profits rather than short-term gains during particular business cycles, a growth in Full-Time employment could be observed. When businesses are fully established in their sector and are marginally well-off, they opt to hire and retain Full-Time employees more. Otherwise, companies would rely on seasonal hiring and firing strategy only to keep the business running.

Policymakers giving the necessary support and means in terms of infrastructure, financial support, ease of doing business could help organizations to grow faster and offer better employment benefits. As more people from the labor force go into the full-time employment category, fewer people are working as part-time employees overall. When the majority of the labor force is full-time employed, we can expect a robust economy and steady economic growth that is immune to both domestic and international business and economic cycles.

Impact on Currency

Full-Time employment and its other half part-time employment only come into picture when we are trying to assess long-term economic growth and improvements in the citizens’ living standards. Hence, Full-Time employment statistics are more useful to policymakers who are committed to bringing wellbeing to their citizens through meaningful policies.

The currency markets are more concerned with the overall picture and the current business cycle’s impact on the currencies. Hence, Full-Time employment statistics, which are only part of the total labor force, do not move the markets like other employment indicators.

Full-Time employment is a low impact coincident indicator that is more useful for measuring long-term improvements in the quality of people’s lives for investors and policymakers only.

Economic Reports

In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and yearly Employment Situation Reports on its website. The labor force statistics from the Current Population Survey details the nominal values of the full and part-time workers classifying them based on age, sex, race, and ethnicity. Full-Time employment reports are available monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Sources of Full-Time Employment

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey details Full and Part-time employment statistics in detail. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly employment and unemployment reports that are very useful for market analysis. We can also find the same indexes and many others with a comprehensive summary and statistics of various categories on the St. Louis FRED that are relevant for our study. Consolidated reports of Full-Time employment for most countries can be found in Trading Economics.

Full-Time Employment Announcement – Impact due to news release

Full-time employment refers to the number of people working a specified number of hours or more per week at their main job or only job. The number of hours is fixed by the government, who later classify employees in different categories.

Traders and investors worldwide watch the indicator value closely as it tells about a country’s employment situation. For example, in Canada, if a person works 30 hours or more per week, he is considered a full-time Employee. One should expect high volatility in the currency during and after the news release.

The below image shows the employment change in Canada during May. We see that full-time employment increased in Canada by 219.40, which should be positive for the currency. Let us witness the impact of this news release on the Canadian dollar by considering various currency pairs.

CAD/USD | Before the announcement

Let us start with the CAD/USD currency pair to observe the impact of full-time employment change on the Canadian dollar. The above snapshot shows the 15 minutes time-frame chart of the currency pair. The currency has been maintaining a range before the news announcement, and it is only three hours before the release, there seems to be a positive momentum building up for CAD/USD.

CAD/USD | After the announcement

After the news announcement, the price initially moves higher, but this is immediately sold, and the market erases most of the gains. The wick on top of the news candle indicates a strong buy sentiment that is carried over, and momentum continues to build up over the next days. As we can see, despite strong sell at the end-of-the-day positive momentum still built up and the market reached a new high than before the news announcement.

AUD/CAD | Before the announcement

The above image is a snapshot of the AUD/CAD pair on a 15-minute time frame before CAD full employment data release at 12:30 GMT. As we can see before the news announcement, positive momentum was building up, and a downward trend started just hours before the news candle.

AUD/CAD | After the announcement

After the news announcement that came in favor of CAD, AUD/CAD falling momentum increases, and investors lose further confidence in AUD, and a strong sell is seen. That momentum is carried over to the next two days, and the AUD continues to fall against CAD.

CAD/JPY Before the announcement

The above image is a 15-minute time-frame snapshot of CAD/JPY. Before the news announcement, there is no clear uptrend or downtrend.

CAD/JPY After the announcement

It is only after positive news for CAD through full-time employment report the uptrend is further amplified and continues throughout the next few days.

The full-time employment data was able to move currency in favor of CAD against significant currencies after the news announcement confirming the importance of the economic indicator.

Categories
Forex Daily Topic Forex Fundamental Analysis

How Important Is ‘Corporate Profits’ Economic Indicator In Determining A Nation’s Economy?

What is Corporate Profit?

Corporate profit is the money left after the company pays all its expenses and taxes. The money that is collected by the company after selling all products and services during the specified period is considered as line revenue. From this revenue, various deductions happen in the form of tax and salaries, to name a few. Money left over after all the expenses are paid considered to be the company’s profit. The profit earned by the company is an important parameter when it comes to the fundamental analysis of a company.

How is Corporate Profit measured?

The corporate profit economic indicator calculates the net income of a company that is measured by considering the following factors:

Profits from present production – This type of profit is gained from two components. First, the income that is gained after inventory replacement is included in this, and secondly, the income statement depreciation is considered. This type of profit is also known as operating or economic profit.

Profit on books – The profit earned from net income minus inventory and depreciation adjustment is known as book profits.

Profit after-tax – Book profit after the tax deduction is called profit after-tax. This type of profit is believed to be the most relevant number when calculating corporate profit.

Real Corporate Profit

Corporate profits are one of the most studied data of a company. It also plays a major role in other financial measures of the country. Profit is not a measure of the amount of cash a company earned in a given period. We need to understand the income statement that includes non-cash expenses as well. It is also important to understand the changes in accounting methods that have influenced the profit margins.

These are some hidden charges that are directly deducted from the net profit. Therefore, it is often more appropriate to consider profit as a percentage of sales when comparing one company to another. Remember, a comparison between companies should be made among companies within the same industry, and the net profit should be seen in this context.

Analyzing corporate profits

Corporate profit is nothing but a company’s income and the one that is directly reflected in the official statement. Hence, they are one of the most important things to consider when investing in the shares of a company. Increasing corporate profits means either increasing corporate spending, growth in retained earnings, or increasing dividend payments to shareholders. All of these are positive steps taken by a company indicating growth.

The corporate profits data is most useful for an investor rather than a trader. It involves buying the shares of a company and holding them for a minimum of 3 months. An investor may also use this number to do performance analysis. If an individual notices an increase in the profit of a particular company while the overall corporate profits are declining, it could signal company strength. Alternatively, if an investor notices that the company’s profits are declining while overall profits are increasing, i.e., of the sector, a structural problem may exist in the company.

Economic reports

Corporate profits are through statistical reports that are published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). It is a comprehensive report comprising of the company’s net revenue, earnings before tax, earnings after tax, corporate profits, expenditure, etc. Finally, the report summarises the net income of corporations in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPA). One thing we have to make a note of here is that the corporate profit numbers derived from the NIPA, which is dependent on the GDP growth, are different from the profit statements released by the companies. So, while analyzing the data, we need to be cautious by looking at both the numbers and rely on the ones where the difference is not huge.

Impact on Currency

There might not be a direct relationship between corporate profits and the value of a currency as the former is more company-specific and represents a very small portion of the economy. However, an overall corporate profit that is a collective data of all companies affects the stock market. If the data is good, it means the manufacturing is growing and that domestic companies are generating profits. This, in turn, has a positive impact on the currency and leads to an appreciation of the domestic currency. However, if the collective data is negative, it can lead to depreciation of the currency in the long term.

Sources of information on Corporate Profits

Corporate tax data is released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) quarterly on the official website. Another reliable source of information on corporate profits is the press release by the respective companies. The press releases can be found on the website of the stock exchange. Links to Corporate Profits sources

GBP (Sterling) – https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/corporate-profits

AUD – https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/corporate-profits

USD – https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/corporate-profits

CAD – https://tradingeconomics.com/canada/corporate-profits

EUR – https://tradingeconomics.com/germany/corporate-profits

JPY – https://tradingeconomics.com/japan/corporate-profits

Corporate profits are a closely watched economic indicator by institutional investors. Profitability provides a summary of the company’s financial health and serves as an essential indicator of economic performance. Profits are retained earnings, providing much of the capital for investing in productive capacity. The estimates of profits and related measures are used to evaluate the effects on corporations of changes in economic policy and the financial condition of the country.

Impact of the ‘Corporate Profits’ news release on the Forex market

Corporate profit, also called net income, is the amount remaining within the company after all costs such as interests, taxes, and other expenses are deducted from total sales. It is also referred to as net profit or net earnings. A high cumulative corporate profit generally indicates that a company is running efficiently, providing value to its shareholders, and contributing towards the growth of the manufacturing sector.

It is significant because it shows how well the company has managed its costs. The corporate profit data is not that important for traders as it does not have a direct impact on the value of a currency. Hence, we should not expect high volatility in the currency after the news announcement.

In the following section of the article, we will be analyzing the impact of Corporate Profit on various currency pairs and analyze the change in volatility due to the news release. The below image shows the latest quarter’s corporate profit in Canada that was released in June. We see a major drop in profits compared to the previous quarter, which means companies were unable to make huge profits in this quarter. Let us find out the reaction of the market to this data.

USD/CAD | Before the announcement

We will first examine the USD/CAD currency pair to observe the impact of corporate profit on the Canadian dollar. The above image shows the state of the chart before the news announcement. We see that the pair is in a strong uptrend, and recently the price seems to be retracing. Our approach should be to ‘buy’ the currency pair as the major trend is up, but the price needs to retrace to an important technical level before we can buy. Let us see that if ‘news’ gives us that opportunity.

USD/CAD | After the announcement

After the news announcement, the price goes lower, and volatility increases to the downside. Even though the Corporate Profit data was awful for the economy, traders went ‘long’ in the Canadian dollar by selling U.S. dollars. The bearish news candle shows that the news candle did not have any adverse effect on the currency. Few hours after the news announcement, volatility continues to increase on the downside, and we witness large selling pressure in the market.

GBP/CAD | Before the announcement

GBP/CAD | After the announcement

The above images represent the GBP/CAD currency pair, where we see that before the news, the market is moving in a ‘range,’ and recently, the price has moved higher after reacting from the support. Since the impact of corporate profits is least on the currency, traders shouldn’t be scared of the news release and can take a position in the market according to their strategy.

After the news announcement, the market slightly moves lower, or even one could argue that the news release had a major impact on the currency. The corporate profit data had a minor impact on the currency pair, which lasted for a few minutes. Traders should analyze the pair technically and not be worried about news data.

CAD/CHF | Before the announcement

CAD/CHF | After the announcement

The above images are that of CAD/CHF currency pair, where we see that the market in a strong downtrend with some minor price retracement at the moment. We should be looking to go ‘short’ in the currency pair after the occurrence of the price continuation pattern in the market. However, if the price continues to move higher, the sell trade is off the table. Conservative traders can wait for the news release and then take a position based on the impact of the news.

After the news announcement, the price moves higher, and volatility expands on the upside. The small up move gets completely retraced by the immediate next candle, and the market continues to move lower. Hence, it is evident that the news has a negligible impact on the currency pair, where the overall trend of the market dominates the move after the announcement.

We hope you understood this Fundamental Indicator and its relative impact on the Forex price charts. All the best!

Categories
Forex Fundamental Analysis

The Impact Of ‘Capacity Utilization’ On The Forex Price Charts

Introduction

Capacity Utilization is a straightforward and crude way of finding out whether a business or an economy is operating at its peak potential. Investors would always prefer to direct their capital, where their returns are maximized to the optimal levels. In this sense, Capacity Utilization can tell us which sectors, or companies, or even economies would attract capital, which would further fuel growth and prosperity. Hence, understanding Capacity Utilization figures will prove advantageous for our fundamental analysis.

What is Capacity Utilization?

Capacity Utilization refers to the proportion of the real potential economic output that is realized at a given point in time. It tells us at what level of maximum capacity is an industry operating at. It is expressed in percentage and is given by the below equation:

For example, a firm that can produce 10,000 phones a day, if it is producing 6,000 phones only, then the company is said to have a Capacity Utilization of 60%.

In the simplest sense, Capacity Utilization is like a report card of an industry or an economy. It tells the current score (or marks) out of the maximum possible marks.

How can the Capacity Utilization numbers be used for analysis?

Capacity Utilization Rate is an essential operational parameter for businesses, especially those manufacturing physical goods, as it is easier to quantify the output.

A company operating at less than 100% implies that the firm can increase its production, and consequently, its profit margin without incurring additional costs of installing new equipment to increase production. Likewise, economies with scores of less than 100% can afford to increase production capacity when demanded.

For the companies, it serves as a metric for determining operating efficiency. Capacity Utilization is susceptible to the following factors:

  • Business Cycles: Businesses are often seasonal, seeing an increase in business during specific periods of the years, although some companies may have consistent business activity throughout the year. It depends on the nature of business and the products being manufactured.
  • Management: Lack of proper management can also lead to wastage of resources; therefore, undermining the efficiency of the company itself. It is not often the common cause but is also one factor that investors must look into to make sure proper management is there to handle the business to utilize the available resources in terms of workforce and equipment to optimize revenue for the firm.
  • Economy’s Health: Economic conditions drive consumer sentiment and affect the spending patterns of people. During fluctuating inflation rates and unstable market economic conditions, people tend to save more and spend less, which can effectively reduce the demand for goods and services. In this case, the company may need to adjust their production to demand.
  • Competition: In an open market environment, competition always takes away a portion of our business, as companies battle for a bigger portion of the market, the best companies with excellent quality goods, and reputation tend to take a higher proportion of market revenue. At the same time, the laggards end up with lower demands for their product.

In general, competition and management factors are a minor component that applies to novice companies that are in the early stages of development. In most cases, the industries are well established in their field and have consistent performance and are indeed susceptible to Economic health and business cycles.

Low Capacity Utilization figures are not desirable. Fiscal and Monetary Policymakers ( Government and Central Banks) monitor the Capacity Utilization figures and intervene using fiscal or monetary levers to stimulate business and economy. Governments can decrease the tax burden on specific sectors to encourage them to invest capital in their growth. At the same time, Central Banks can reduce interest rates to encourage business owners to borrow money and increase business activity through expansion or investment opportunities.

 High Capacity Utilization figures are always preferable, as it indicates that the companies are running at their maximum capacity, and earning maximum achievable profit through their current business setup. When Capacity Utilization is close to 100%, the economy is performing at its peak, and it is ideal an ideal environment for investors to invest in industries. It implies that economic health is stable and growing.

Sector-wise Capacity Utilization rates difference can tell us what amount of slacks each industry is carrying and can direct investment capital into the growing industries than the slowing sectors. By comparing historical highs and lows, we can get a reference, on an industry’s current performance with regards to its peak high and low performances, to understand how it is faring right now.

Impact on Currency

Capacity Utilization is a coincident indicator that is reflective of the market environment and the corresponding policy levers executed to counter the market conditions by the Fiscal and Monetary policymakers. Hence, it gives us a current economic picture as it is a function of the market environment and policy levers.

It is a proportional indicator, where high Capacity Utilization Rates indicate healthy revenue-generating activity, which is suitable for the economy, higher GDP prints, and currency appreciates accordingly. On the other hand, decreasing Capacity Utilization Rates indicate a stagnating or deteriorating business activity, which poses a deflationary threat to the economy, or extreme cases recession, which is depreciating for the currency.

It is a low impact indicator, as the corresponding impacts would have been already priced into the market. We are saying this because policy maker’s decisions come out in the form of interest rates, tax exemptions or reductions, and through survey indicators like business and consumer surveys.

Economic Reports

The “Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization – G17” reports are published every month by the Federal Reserve in the United States on its official website. The reports are published in the formats of estimates and revised estimates.

The first estimate is released around the 15th of every month at 9:15 A.M. for the previous month. It factors in about 75% of the data. The second estimate accounts for 85%, the third estimate 94%, the fourth estimate 95%, and 96% in the fifth and sixth estimates as more of the source data becomes available after each passing month.

Sources of Capacity Utilization

The monthly Capacity Utilization statistics are available on the official website of the Federal Reserve for the United States. The St. Louis FRED website provides a comprehensive list of Industry Production, and Capacity Utilization reports on its website with multiple graphical plots. We can also find global Manufacturing Production figures for various countries in statistical formats here.

Impact of the ‘Capacity Utilization’ news release on the price charts

In the previous section of the article, we understood the meaning and significance of Capacity Utilization, which essentially talks about the manufacturing and production capabilities that are being utilized by a nation at any given point of time. If demand increases, Capacity Utilization increases, but if demand decreases, the rate will fall. Policymakers use this data for fixing interest rates and while calculating inflation in the economy. Thus, investors give a reasonable amount of importance to the data and take a stance in the currency based on the Capacity Utilization rate.

The below image shows the latest and previous Capacity Utilization rate of Japan. We see there was a decrease in Capacity Utilization in March, which means the country underutilized its resources. A higher than expected number should be taken as positive for the Japanese Yen, while a lower than expected number as negative. Let us discover the impact of the data on different currency pairs.

USD/JPY | Before the announcement:

We shall begin with the USD/JPY currency pair to analyze the change in volatility before and after the news announcement. The above image shows the state of the currency pair before the news announcement, where the price moving within a range broadly and currently is in the middle of the range. As there is no clarity with respect to the direction of the market, we shall be trading based on the outcome of the news.

USD/JPY | After the announcement:

After the news announcement, the price falls below the moving average, and volatility increases to the downside. Even though the Capacity Utilization data was not very good for the economy, traders considered the data to be mildly positive for the economy in this case and bought the Japanese Yen. After the market has shown signs of weakness, we are now certain that the volatility will expand on the downside, and thus, we can take a ‘short’ position with a stop loss above the ‘resistance’ of the range.

GBP/JPY | Before the announcement:

GBP/JPY | After the announcement:

The above images represent the GBP/JPY currency pair, where we see that before the announcement, the price has started to move in a ‘range’ after a large move on the upside. This also a place from where the market had reversed earlier, thus we need to trade with caution, as we are not sure where the market will head now.

After the news announcement, the price crashes and sharply moves lower. The Capacity Utilization data proved to be positive for the Japanese Yen, and traders went ‘short’ in the currency pair, thereby strengthening the currency furthermore. This is our final confirmation for taking a ‘short’ trade and taking entry as the volatility increases to the downside.

AUD/JPY | Before the announcement:

AUD/JPY | After the announcement:

The above images are that of the AUD/JPY currency pair, where in the first image, we see that the market is in a strong uptrend indicating a great amount of weakness in the Japanese Yen. Technically, we should be looking for buying the currency pair after a suitable price retracement to the ‘support’ area, but a news release can change the entire plan. Thus, we need to wait and see what the news outcome does to the currency pair.

After the news announcement, volatility slightly increases to the downside, and the ‘news candle’ barely closes in red. This means the impact of Capacity Utilization was least on this currency pair that did not result in huge volatility in the pair. As the overall trend is up, a ‘short’ trade can be very risky as the risk to reward ratio is not in our favor.

That’s about ‘Capacity Utilization’ and its impact on the Forex market after its news release. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below. Good luck!