Economic projections are collected from each member of the Board of Governors and each Federal Reserve Bank president four times a year, in connection with the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC’s) usual two-day meetings (typically held in January, April, June, and November). Several charts and a table that summarize those projections are released at the Chairman's press conference within hours of the meeting. Three weeks later, more detailed information is provided in the Summary of Economic Projections, which is published with the minutes of the FOMC meeting.

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.

The press conference is about an hour long and has 2 parts - first a prepared statement is read, then the conference is open to press questions. The questions often lead to unscripted answers that create heavy market volatility. The FOMC conference is among the primary methods the Fed uses to communicate with investors regarding monetary policy. It covers in detail the factors that affected the most recent interest rate and other policy decisions, along with commentary about economic conditions such as the future growth outlook and inflation. Most importantly, it provides clues regarding future monetary policy.

A comprehensive measure of a New Zealand 's overall production and consumption of goods and services. GDP serves as one of the primary measures of overall economic well-being. Economic expansion, indicated by a growing GDP, raises concerns about inflationary pressure.

GDP calculates the total market value of goods and services produced in New Zealand within a given period after deducting the cost of goods and services used up in the process of production. Therefore, GDP excludes intermediate goods and services and considers final aggregates only. It is calculated as:

GDP = C + I + G + (EX - IM)

where

C = private consumption
I = private investment
G = government expenditure
EX = exports of goods and services
IM = imports of goods and services

The headline figures for GDP are the percentage growth rate from the previous quarter and the annualized percentage change in GDP. These are the preliminary figures, and are usually revised every following month.

Japan machinery orders received from the private sector excluding volatile orders.