Country:
Importance:High
Previous:133.4

Assessment of consumer sentiment regarding business conditions, employment and personal income. Based on a representative sample of thousands of mail-in surveys, the Conference Board index has the largest pooling sample of any US measure of consumer confidence. Consumer Confidence levels are generally linked with consumer spending. For instance, when consumer confidence is on the rise consumer spending tends to increase. Low or falling consumer confidence on the other hand is typically associated with decreased spending and consumer demand.

Some analysts criticize the Consumer Confidence figure for its volatile tendencies and weak connection to household expenditure, turning instead to the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence numbers. The volatility of the Consumer Confidence figure is attributed to two factors: its pooling size and the survey time frame focus. The Conference Board surveys an entirely new group of people each month, resulting in more erratic month to month figures. Additionally, the survey queries respondents on expectations for the following six months, a relatively short term evaluation. Conversely, the University of Michigan survey will re-poll many individuals and focuses on expectations for the next one to five years. The long term focus has a stabilizing effect on consumer confidence.

Survey results are printed in the headlines where 100 reflects a recent base year.

Country:
Importance:High
Previous:2.00%
Forecast:2.00%
The main interest rates settled by the FOMC are responsible for driving inflation in accordance with the monetary policy adopted by the FED. One of the rates in mind is the overnight borrowing rate and the Federal Reserve’s Cash Rate Target (FRCRT). The latter affects interest rates for consumer loans, mortgages, bonds or others. The actual changes to the interest rates have a direct impact on the US dollar. However, the market expectation, in respect to future monetary policy, plays a part that is even more significant for the market. In such circumstances, any indirect information that provides hints to future FED monetary policy, and thus influences the market expectations in respect to the interest rates, may have a significant impact on the US currency. Typically, an increase of the interest rates, or expectations of such an increase, provide fundamental support to the US dollar. The lower interest rates may have a negative impact on the US currency.

Country:
Importance:High

The FOMC usually changes the statement slightly at each release. It's these changes that traders focus on. It's the primary tool the FOMC uses to communicate with investors about monetary policy. It contains the outcome of their vote on interest rates and other policy measures, along with commentary about the economic conditions that influenced their votes. Most importantly, it discusses the economic outlook and offers clues on the outcome of future votes.