Japanese Current Account n.s.a. (yen) (MAY) (23:50 GMT; 19:50 EST)
Consensus:           1,630 B
Previous:              1,282 B

Outlook: Japan's widest measure of international trade, the current account, is predicted to report a modest recovery in May's surplus as an improvement in net good's trade will be offset by an outflow of investment capital and a strengthening currency.  In the investment income component of the current account, a rush of capital from the world's second largest economy could evolve from the sharp drop in Japanese shares in May.  Over the month, the Nikkei plummeted nearly 10% from April's high as speculation that the BoJ would eventually raise lending rates was interspersed with scandals and order failures on indices.  Further exacerbating trade conditions was the yen's dive against the US dollar, which took the exchange rate from a mid-April high of 118.92 to a mid-May low of 109.00.   This created an immediate burden to those purchasing Japanese goods or looking to invest in their assets.  However, the recovery of the Japanese economy coupled with world stronger global conditions and easing crude oil prices is expected to contribute to the uptick in overall balances.

Previous: April's current account surplus thinned to 1282 billion yen, down from 2395 billion yen in March.  This figure was below expectations and was 32.4% lower than the year before.  Contributing primarily to the drop was the wider-than-expected service deficit, which ballooned to 497 billion yen following the previous month's 118.3 billion yen shortfall, while a halving of the goods trade failed to offer any support.  Overall, exports were up only 11.4% year over year while imports jumped 23.2% year over year.

Australian Employment Change (JUN) (01:30 GMT; 21:30 EST)
Consensus:             10.0K
Previous:                56.0K

Outlook:  Australian employment is expected to grow in June, but at a more restrained pace compared against May.  This mild increase of the number of hires should keep the unemployment rate at 4.9%, a 30 year low, which continues to bode well for a rebound in consumer spending.  Contributing to the improvement is growing demand for workers from the mining sector, as Australian exports to Asia continue to increase.  Hiring for government projects has also increased of late, contributing to the strong expectations.  Strong employment reads in June could provide more income to Australian consumers who are struggling to cope with record gasoline prices, while also helping to boost retail sales which dipped 0.3% in the month prior.  The Reserve Bank of Australia will most likely need to see a return in consumer spending and confidence before considering another rate hike before the end of the year, and employment strength may be the platform needed to do so.

Previous: A net 56,000 jobs added to the Australian economy was the single, largest gain in almost two years and easily blew expectations of a meager 12,500 out of the water.  The increase was strong enough to push the jobless rate to 4.9%, the lowest rate in thirty years.  Mining, government, and retail sales were all responsible for the trend of hiring new workers as employers scrambled to fill in positions needed to improve capacity restraints and efficiency.  Some concern has been raised as skilled worker shortages are becoming more cumbersome in Western Australia, the region where much of Australia's mines are located.

Japanese Industrial Production (YoY) (MAY F) (04:30 GMT; 00:30 EST)
Consensus:               n/a
Previous:                  4.2%

Outlook: Japanese industrial production could continue the upward push that has subsisted through the end of 2005 and the opening months of 2006.  Exports have improved thanks to growth in global demand, while a pickup in manufacturing production and capacity utilization has pushed Japanese industry to new heights.  The weak link in the Japanese industrial recovery has been recently weak supermarket and large retail store sales, indicating somewhat sluggish growth in domestic demand.  Also, weakness in the nation's currency could also prove detrimental to exports.

Previous: Japanese factory activity accelerated 4.2% year over year despite a 1.0% decline in the more volatile monthly figure.  The shorter timeframe's decline came after an all-time positive jump in April.  The move down is seen as a slight correction after April's 1.4% surge, rather than the beginning of a new down trend.  Reasons for the decline include maximized capacity utilization and sluggish domestic demand.

German Consumer Price Index (MoM) (June F) (06:00 GMT; 02:00 EST)
Consensus:               0.2%
Previous:                  0.2%

Outlook: The final reading for June's monthly change in consumer prices for Germany is expected to hold to 0.2% growth, in line with initial calculations.  The number is even with May's 0.2% growth, and the increase puts the more closely watched annualized measure at 2.1%.  Driving the figure up is a 17% annual increase in oil prices, which has sparked inflation in other Euro-zone nations and abroad.  Consistently high inflation in the region, beyond that which is considered reasonable for the European Central Bank, has caused analysts to predict two further rate hikes by the ECB this year after they had passed on the meeting in July.

Previous: Germany's consumer price index accelerated in May as Euro strength against many other majors helped to mitigate rising oil prices.  Forecasts put CPI at 1.9% year over year.  Inflation in the broader Euro-zone is currently at 2.4%, above the target rate of 2.0%. set by the region's central bank.

Richard Lee is a Currency Strategist at FXCM.