Economic Calendar - Currencies

The au Jibun Bank Japan Composite PMI Output Index, which is a weighted average of the Manufacturing Output Index and the Services Business Activity Index, tracks business trends across private sector activity based on data collected from a representative panel of around 800 companies. The index tracks variables such as sales, new orders, employment, inventories and prices. The index varies between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease.

The au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to monthly questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. The headline figure is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which is a weighted average of the following five indices: New Orders (30%), Output (25%), Employment (20%), Suppliers’ Delivery Times (15%) and Stocks of Purchases (10%). For the PMI calculation the Suppliers’ Delivery Times Index is inverted so that it moves in a comparable direction to the other indices. The index varies between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease.

The au Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 service sector companies. The sectors covered include consumer (excluding retail), transport, information, communication, finance, insurance, real estate and business services. The headline figure is the Services Business Activity Index. This is a diffusion index calculated from a question that asks for changes in the volume of business activity compared with one month previously. The Services Business Activity Index is comparable to the Manufacturing Output Index. The index varies between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease.

In Australia, employment change refers to the absolute change in the number of persons who work for pay or profit, or perform unpaid family work. Estimates include both full-time and part-time employment.

The labour force participation rates is the number of persons who are employed and unemployed but looking for a job divided by the total working-age population.

In Australia, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.

In Australia, persons employed part time are those employed persons who usually worked less than 35 hours a week in all jobs.

In Australia, full time employment change refers to the change in the number of employed persons who usually work 35 hours or more a week (in all jobs) and those who, although usually working fewer than 35 hours a week, work 35 hours or more during the reference week.

The activity index of the tertiary industry helps to understand an overall picture of industrial activities, inclusive of all business categories in the tertiary industry. The composite index is a general indicator in which the indexes to express the activity in respective business categories are consolidated with weight in terms of the scale of relative importance of each business category (value added). Wholesale Trade is the most important sector and accounts for 15 percent of tertiary activity, followed by Medical, Health Care & Welfare and Living & Amusement-related Services (12 percent each), Information & Communications (11 percent), Retail Trade and Transport & Postal Activities (10 percent each), Finance and Insurance (9 percent), Real Estate (8 percent), Business-related Services (7 percent), and Electricity, Gas, Heat Supply & Water and Goods Rental and Leasing (3 percent each).

In China, Foreign Direct Investment refers to foreign capital actually utilized, which is to the amount which has been actually used according to the agreements and contracts, including cash, materials and invisible capital such as labor service and technology which both parties agree to take as an investment.

In Turkey, Foreign Exchange Reserves refer to gross foreign exchange reserves held or controlled by the country's central bank, excluding gold.

In Mexico, the Retail sales report provides an aggregated measure of sales of retail goods and services over a specific time period. In Mexico, Retail sales are seasonal, volatile and relatively important to the overall economy.

In Mexico, the year-over-year change in Retail sales compares the aggregated sales of retail goods and services during a certain month to the same month a year ago.