Aug. 29, 2008 (Allthingsforex.com) – The U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls and four Interest Rate announcements from major central banks will kick-start the trading month ahead.

In preparation for the new trading week, here is a quick look at the most important economic events that every currency trader should pay attention to.

Sunday, Aug. 31 will start the trading session with a strong sequence of significant economic releases from “down under”, beginning with the Australian Manufacturing PMI- Purchasing Managers Index of the level of activity by purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, at 7:30 pm, ET.

The first spotlight event of the week- the Australian TD Securities Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge, used a timely monthly indicator of the official quarterly Consumer Price Index, will come out at 8:30 pm, ET, followed by the Australian Current Account of goods, services and transfer of payments into and out of the country, at 9:30 pm, ET.

The day will conclude with the Australian Company Gross Operating Profits and the Japanese Average Cash Earnings, measuring the monthly change in the wages paid to jobholders, both scheduled at 9:30 pm, ET.

Monday, Sep. 1 will begin early with the Australian Commodity Price Index of inflation in prices of commodities, at 2:30 am, ET, and the Swiss PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing and service sectors, at 3:30 am, ET.

More European data will bring the Euro-zone Manufacturing PMI-Purchasing Managers' Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector, at 4:00 am, ET.

News from the U.K. will deliver the Manufacturing PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, the U.K. Mortgage Approvals and Lending to Individuals, all due at 4:30 am, ET.
The U.S. and the Canadian markets will be closed in observance of Labor Day. 

The day will end with the Japanese Monetary Base, at 7:50 pm, ET, and the Australian Retail Sales, the main gauge of consumer spending, at 9:30 pm, ET. 

Tuesday, Sep. 2 will be a day filled with important economic releases, starting with one of the major spotlight events of the week- the Reserve Bank of Australia's Interest Rate Announcement, at 12:30 am, ET.

Another two significant economic events- the Swiss CPI- Consumer Price Index, the main measure of inflation, and the Swiss GDP- Gross Domestic Product, the main measure of economic activity and growth, will be released at 1:45 am, ET, followed by the U.K. Construction PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, at 4:30 am, ET.

News from the Euro-zone will bring a spotlight event- the Euro-zone PPI- Producer Price Index, the main measure of inflation experienced by manufacturers, due at 5:00 am, ET.  

The U.S. economic releases will also deliver a spotlight event- the ISM Manufacturing Index, a composite diffusion index of national conditions in the manufacturing sector, at 10:00 am, ET, along with the U.S. Construction Spending, also at 10:00 am, ET. If the Institute for Supply Management Index shows a reading below 50, that would indicate economic contraction.

The day will conclude with a sequence of important economic data, beginning with the U.K. Nationwide Building Society Consumer Confidence Index, a survey of consumers’ financial conditions and attitudes about the economy, at 7:00 pm, ET, followed by the Australian Services PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, at 7:30 pm, ET.

The Australian GDP- Gross Domestic Product, the main measure of economic activity and growth, at 9:30 pm, ET, and New Zealand’s Commodity Price Index, at 11:00 pm, ET, will wrap up the busy day.

Wednesday, Sep. 3 will begin with the German Retail Sales, the main measure of consumer spending, at 2:00 am, ET, and a notable housing market report from the U.K.- the Halifax House Price Index of the monthly change in the average asking price of residential properties, expected around 3:30 am, ET.

The European news will continue with the Euro-zone Services PMI- Purchasing Manager's Index, measuring the activity level of purchasing managers in the services sector, at 4:00 am, ET, and the U.K. Services PMI, at 4:30 am, ET.

More European data will bring two spotlight events- the Euro-zone GDP- Gross Domestic Product, the main measure of economic activity and growth, and the Euro-zone Retail Sales, the main measure of consumer spending, both scheduled at 5:00 am, ET, followed by the U.K. BRC- British Retail Consortium Shop Price Index, measuring the rate of inflation experienced by retailers, at 5:30 am, ET.

The U.S. economic releases will begin with an important event- the ADP-Automatic Data Processing Employment Report, a preliminary estimate that could help to predict the monthly non-farm payrolls, at 8:15 am, ET.

News from Canada will deliver one of the major spotlight events of the week- the Bank of Canada's Interest Rate Announcement, at 9:00 am, ET.

More U.S. data will continue with the U.S. Factory Orders, representing the dollar level of new factory orders for both durable and nondurable goods, at 10:00 am, ET, and the EIA- Energy Information Administration Weekly Oil Inventories, at 10:30 am, ET.

The day will end with the Australian Trade Balance of the difference between the country’s imports and exports, at 9:30 pm, ET.

Thursday, Sep. 4 will begin early with the German Factory Orders placed with manufacturers, at 6:00 am, ET.

Two of the main spotlight events of the week will follow- Bank of England's Interest Rate Decision at 7:00 am, ET, and the European Central Bank's Interest Rate Decision at 7:45 am, ET. No rate changes are expected from both of these central banks.

After the interest rate announcements, the U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims will be released at 8:30 am, ET, along with the U.S. Non-farm Productivity and Labor Costs Index, measuring the growth of labor efficiency in producing the economy's goods and services, also at 8:30 am, ET.

Another important event that morning will be the European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet's speech at 8:30 am, ET at the press conference following the ECB Governing Council's interest rate decision. The language of the statement will be very closely watched for any hints of future changes in the ECB’s monetary policy.

The U.S. news will continue with a spotlight event- the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index of economic conditions in industries like agriculture, mining, construction, transportation, communications, wholesale trade and retail trade, at 10:00 am, ET.

More U.S. data will bring the EIA- Energy Information Administration Weekly Natural Gas Inventories, at 10:30 am, ET, the U.S. Treasury Strips, a report of the amount of net stripping of Treasury securities that has taken place during the month, at 3:00 pm, ET, and the U.S. Money Supply by degree of liquidity, at 4:30 pm, ET.

The day will end with the Australian Construction PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index, at 7:30 pm, ET, and the Japanese Capital Spending, at 7:50 pm, ET.

Friday, Sep. 5 will start with the German Industrial Production, measuring the physical output of the nation's factories, mines and utilities, at 6:00 am, ET.
Later on, the Canadian Unemployment Rate and Employment Change will hit the newswires at 7:00 am, ET.

The trading week will conclude with its main spotlight economic event- the U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls and Employment Situation Report, one of the most important indicators of economic health, measuring the number of new jobs created, scheduled at 8:30 am, ET, along with the U.S. Unemployment Rate and Average Hourly Earnings, also due at 8:30 am, ET.

The Canadian Ivey PMI- Purchasing Managers' Index of the level of activity by purchasing managers in all sectors of the economy, scheduled at 10:00 am, ET, will wrap up the crucial for the future fate of the U.S. Dollar first trading week of the month.