Economic calendar

The figures displayed in the calendar represent the rate on the Treasury Bill auctioned. U.S. Treasury Bills have maturities of a few days to one year. Governments issue treasuries to borrow money to cover the gap between the amount they receive in taxes and the amount they spend to refinance existing debt and/or to raise capital. The rate on a Treasury Bill represents the return an investor will receive by holding the bill for its entire duration. All bidders receive the same rate at the highest accepted bid. Yield fluctuations should be monitored closely as an indicator of the government debt situation. Investors compare the average rate at auction to the rate at previous auctions of the same security.

The figures displayed in the calendar represent the rate on the Treasury Bill auctioned. U.S. Treasury Bills have maturities of a few days to one year. Governments issue treasuries to borrow money to cover the gap between the amount they receive in taxes and the amount they spend to refinance existing debt and/or to raise capital. The rate on a Treasury Bill represents the return an investor will receive by holding the bill for its entire duration. All bidders receive the same rate at the highest accepted bid. Yield fluctuations should be monitored closely as an indicator of the government debt situation. Investors compare the average rate at auction to the rate at previous auctions of the same security.

The figures displayed in the calendar represent the rate on the Treasury Bill auctioned. U.S. Treasury Bills have maturities of a few days to one year. Governments issue treasuries to borrow money to cover the gap between the amount they receive in taxes and the amount they spend to refinance existing debt and/or to raise capital. The rate on a Treasury Bill represents the return an investor will receive by holding the bill for its entire duration. All bidders receive the same rate at the highest accepted bid. Yield fluctuations should be monitored closely as an indicator of the government debt situation. Investors compare the average rate at auction to the rate at previous auctions of the same security.

The figures displayed in the calendar represent the rate on the Treasury Bill auctioned. U.S. Treasury Bills have maturities of a few days to one year. Governments issue treasuries to borrow money to cover the gap between the amount they receive in taxes and the amount they spend to refinance existing debt and/or to raise capital. The rate on a Treasury Bill represents the return an investor will receive by holding the bill for its entire duration. All bidders receive the same rate at the highest accepted bid. Yield fluctuations should be monitored closely as an indicator of the government debt situation. Investors compare the average rate at auction to the rate at previous auctions of the same security.

Average Hourly Earnings measures the change in the price businesses pay for labor, not including the agricultural sector. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.

Average Weekly Hours (also known as Average Workweek) measures the average number of hours worked by employees on non-farm payrolls. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.

The exports number provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports. A higher than expected number should be taken as positive to the USD, while a lower than expected number as negative.

In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons. From an accounting point of view, payroll is crucial because payroll and payroll taxes considerably affect the net income of most companies and they are subject to laws and regulations (e.g. in the US payroll is subject to federal and state regulations). From an ethics in business viewpoint payroll is a critical department as employees are responsive to payroll errors and irregularities: good employee morale requires payroll to be paid timely and accurately. The primary mission of the payroll department is to ensure that all employees are paid accurately and timely with the correct withholdings and deductions, and to ensure the withholdings and deductions are remitted in a timely manner. This includes salary payments, tax withholdings, and deductions from a paycheck.

The Imports number measures any good or service brought into one country from another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. Import goods or services are provided to domestic consumers by foreign producers. A lower than expected number should be taken as positive to the USD, while a higher than expected number as negative.

Employment data, except those for the Federal Government, refer to persons on establishment payrolls who received pay for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. For Federal Government establishments, employment figures represent the number of persons who occupied positions on the last day of the calendar month. Intermittent workers are counted if they performed any service during the month.The data exclude proprietors, the self-employed, unpaid volunteer or family workers, farm workers, and domestic workers. Salaried officers of corporations are included. Government employment covers only civilian employees; military personnel are excluded. Employees of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency also are excluded.Persons on establishment payrolls who are on paid sick leave (when pay is received directly from the firm), on paid holiday, on paid vacation, or work during a part of the pay period even though they are unemployed or on strike during the rest of the period are counted as employed. Not counted as employed are persons who are on layoff, on leave without pay, on strike for the entire period, or who were hired but have not yet reported during the period.

The participation rate is an important indicator of the supply of labor. It measures the share of the working-age population either working or looking for work. The number of people who are no longer actively searching for work would not be included in the participation rate. A reading that is stronger than forecast is generally supportive (bullish) for the USD, while a weaker than forecast reading is generally negative (bearish) for the USD.

The Trade Balance measures the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services over the reported period. A positive number indicates that more goods and services were exported than imported. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.

Factory Orders measures the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers. The report also includes a revision of the Durable Goods Orders data released about a week earlier as well as data new data on non-durable goods orders. A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD.

Factory Orders measures the change in the total value of new purchase orders placed with manufacturers, but excluding all orders related to the transportation industry. The report also includes a revision of the Durable Goods Orders data released about a week earlier as well as data new data on non-durable goods orders. A higher than expected number should be taken as positive to the USD, while a lower than expected number as negative.

The Baker Hughes rig count is an important business barometer for the oil drilling industry. When drilling rigs are active they consume products and services produced by the oil service industry. The active rig count acts as a leading indicator of demand for oil products.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report provides a breakdown of the net positions for "non-commercial" (speculative) traders in U.S. futures markets. All data corresponds to positions held by participants primarily based in Chicago and New York futures markets. The Commitments of Traders report is considered an indicator for analyzing market sentiment and many speculative traders use the data to help them decide whether or not to take a long or short position. Commitments of Traders (COT) data is released each Friday at 3:30pm Eastern Time, pending a holiday in the U.S., to reflect the commitments of traders on the prior Tuesday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report provides a breakdown of the net positions for "non-commercial" (speculative) traders in U.S. futures markets. All data corresponds to positions held by participants primarily based in Chicago and New York futures markets. The Commitments of Traders report is considered an indicator for analyzing market sentiment and many speculative traders use the data to help them decide whether or not to take a long or short position. Commitments of Traders (COT) data is released each Friday at 3:30pm Eastern Time, pending a holiday in the U.S., to reflect the commitments of traders on the prior Tuesday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report provides a breakdown of the net positions for "non-commercial" (speculative) traders in U.S. futures markets. All data corresponds to positions held by participants primarily based in Chicago and New York futures markets. The Commitments of Traders report is considered an indicator for analyzing market sentiment and many speculative traders use the data to help them decide whether or not to take a long or short position. Commitments of Traders (COT) data is released each Friday at 3:30pm Eastern Time, pending a holiday in the U.S., to reflect the commitments of traders on the prior Tuesday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) weekly Commitments of Traders (COT) report provides a breakdown of the net positions for "non-commercial" (speculative) traders in U.S. futures markets. All data corresponds to positions held by participants primarily based in Chicago and New York futures markets. The Commitments of Traders report is considered an indicator for analyzing market sentiment and many speculative traders use the data to help them decide whether or not to take a long or short position. Commitments of Traders (COT) data is released each Friday at 3:30pm Eastern Time, pending a holiday in the U.S., to reflect the commitments of traders on the prior Tuesday.