The amount of international reserves reflects the external - economic turnover and capital flows during earlier periods.

One of the country's key business sentiment surveys (IFO - Information and Forschung Survey). The survey is conducted monthly, querying German firms on the current German business climate as well as their expectations for the next six months. As the largest economy in the Euro-zone, Germany is responsible for approximately a quarter of the total Euro-Zone GDP.

Consequently, the German IFO is a significant economic health indicator for the Euro-zone as a whole. Positive readings bode well for the economy, suggesting increased consumer spending and economic growth. Conversely, low IFO readings may be indicative of economic slowdown.

The index uses 100 as a centerline between positive and negative outlooks; the further the value is from 100 the stronger the sentiment. The survey presents two equally weighted sub-indices: Current Assessment and Business Expectations.

IFO Current Assessment
Measures current German business conditions, without considering future expectations.

IFO Expectations
Based on firms' expectations for the next six months, where firms rate the future outlook as better, same, or worse.

One of the country's key business sentiment surveys (IFO - Information and Forschung Survey). The survey is conducted monthly, querying German firms on the current German business climate as well as their expectations for the next six months. As the largest economy in the Euro-zone, Germany is responsible for approximately a quarter of the total Euro-Zone GDP. Consequently, the German IFO is a significant economic health indicator for the Euro-zone as a whole. Positive readings bode well for the economy, suggesting increased consumer spending and economic growth. Conversely, low IFO readings may be indicative of economic slowdown.

The index uses 100 as a centerline between positive and negative outlooks; the further the value is from 100 the stronger the sentiment. The survey presents two equally weighted sub-indices: Current Assessment and Business Expectations.

IFO Current Assessment
Measures current German business conditions, without considering future expectations.

IFO Expectations
Based on firms' expectations for the next six months, where firms rate the future outlook as better, same, or worse.

Consumer confidence is a measure of popular sentiment concerning the Italian economy. The figure is derived from a survey that asks thousands of Italian consumers about personal expenditure patterns and inflationary expectations. In general, rising consumer confidence precedes increased consumer spending, which drives both economic growth and inflation. Even though t he Italian economy is heavily driven by its export sector, domestic consumer confidence is an important gauge of overall economic activity and future inflationary pressures.

A headline figure above 50 shows positive consumer sentiment, while a number below 50 shows negative consumer sentiment; the greater the distance, the stronger the sentiment.

The number of issued mortgage loans.

This review reflects businessmen sentiment concerning the position of the industrial sector of the economy.

G20 Meetings of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

A resumptive index of house prices reflecting prices for new constructions and resale real estate markets. As all indices connected with the construction industry it can be seasonally adjusted.

Change in the price of services purchased by corporations. It's a leading indicator of consumer inflation - when corporations pay more for services the higher costs are usually passed on to the consumer.

Measures the current economic activity based on a composite of indicators that track current business conditions.

Movements in these indicators are known to precede larger developments in the rest of the economy.

The Index includes account inventory ratios, machinery orders, stock prices and other leading economic indicators. As the aggregate of many leading indices the Leading Economic Index provides a forecast of the future state of the domestic economy and is thought to predict activity that will occur 6-9 months after the reporting period.

The index operates on a 1-100 scale, where a value lower than 50 means that most indictors are negative and a value higher than 50 means most indicators are positive. In both cases a greater distance from the midpoint (50) means that the indicators are more strongly positive or negative.

The monetary base is volume of money in the economy consists of currency (banknotes and coins) in circulation and commercial banks reserves in the Central Bank.

Consumer confidence is a measure of popular sentiment concerning the French economy. The figure is derived from a telephone survey of 2000 of French households that inquires about expenditure patterns and inflationary expectations. In general, rising consumer confidence precedes increased consumer spending, which drives both economic growth and inflation. Thus, domestic consumer confidence is an important gauge of overall economic activity and inflationary expectations.

The headline figure is the difference between the percentage of positive responses and the percentage of negative answers.

Change in the total value of sales at the retail level. Data can be seasonally adjusted data (sa) or non-seasonally adjusted (nsa).

A monthly gauge of the UK service sector that takes into account business outlook. The survey queries executives in transport and communications, financial intermediation, business services, personal services, computing and IT, hotels and restaurants.

Purchasing managers are tasked with gauging future demand, and adjusting orders for materials accordingly. The PMI summarizes the opinions of these executives to give a picture of the future of the service sector. A higher PMI indicates that materials purchases are increasing and that the economic outlook is positive. Alternately, a lower PMI means orders for materials are down and the future outlook is less favorable. By nature, the figure is very sensitive to the business cycle and tends to match growth or decline in the economy as a whole.

Because the contribution Services makes to the economy tends to be very consistent and predictable, Services PMI figures typically do not move markets

The PMI is presented as an index with a value between 1-100.