Here are the key factors to keep in mind today for Euro trades:

• German Retail Sales: Retail sales in Germany decreased by 2.3% in June monthly, but surged 5.1% annualized. Expectations called for an increase of 0.3% monthly and 4.0% annualized. The retail sales report for May was revised lower and now shows a monthly increase of 0.4% and a contraction of 1.0%.
• Eurozone Unemployment Rate: The labor market showed no signs of improvement in June as compared to May. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11.1% and missed expectations for a decrease to 11.0%.
• Eurozone CPI: The Eurozone CPI rose 0.2% in July annualized while the core CPI rose 1.0%. Forex traders can compare this to June’s increase of 0.2% for the CPI and 0.8% for the core CPI. Economists expected for no change in July from June’s level.

Here are the key factors to keep in mind today for Japanese Yen trades:

• Japanese Jobless Rate/Job-to-Applicant Ratio: The Japanese jobless rate rose to 3.4%in June which was worse than the 3.3% expected by economists; this would have translated into no change from May. Adding to pressures in the Japanese labor market is the increase in the job-to-applicant ratio to 1.20 from May’s 1.19. The job-to-applicant ratio has been continuously on the rise.
• Japanese Household Spending: The Japanese consumer scaled back on spending in June as household spending decreased by 2.0% annualized. Economists expected a slowdown from May’s sharp increase of 4.8% down to an annualized increase of 1.9%, but the 2.0% contraction was unexpected.
• Japanese CPI: Inflation in Japan remains near dangerously low levels, but June did signal a small increase in inflation on the consumer level. The annualized CPI rose 0.4% in June. Economists expected a reading of 0.3% and forex traders can compare this to the 0.5% increase reported in May. The annualized core CPI rose 0.6% in June. Economists expected a reading of 0.4% and forex traders can compare this to the 0.4% increase reported in May. The annualized CPI excluding fresh food rose 0.1% in June. Economists expected a reading of 0.0% and forex traders can compare this to the 0.1% increase reported in May.

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