Swiss Trade Balance (JUL) (06:15 GMT; 02:15 EST)
Consensus:                    SFr 0.92B
Previous:                        SFr 0.86B

Outlook: The trade balance in Europeââ,¬â"¢s eighth-largest economy is expected to expand in July from the previous monthââ,¬â"¢s downward revision, reflecting the fastest economic growth in almost six years.  According to the final figures reported by the government, Juneââ,¬â"¢s SFr 0.94 billion surplus was reduced to SFr 0.86 billion.  For the more current month, growth in the Euro-Zone, which is also posting multi-year highs, continues to fuel Swiss expansion.  Swiss unemployment, now down to 3.1 percent of the labor force, has been steadily declining since January of 2005.  Yet potential for another contraction remains, as producer and import prices grew more than expected in July, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier.  Julyââ,¬â"¢s jump in energy prices, spurred from Middle East turmoil and potential supply disruptions, has hurt trade balances of energy-importers across the world.  And with the Swiss importing nearly all of the crude that they use, they are expected to feel the same effects.

Previous: The Swiss trade surplus unexpectedly shrank in June while higher energy prices made imports more expensive.  Dropping from 1.3 billion francs in May, this yearââ,¬â"¢s second-largest surplus, was primarily a product of stronger domestic demand that called for more foreign goods.  Retail sales in June, adjusted for inflation, grew at a 4.8 percent from a year earlier.  Exports also grew, benefiting from a growing demand from Euro-Zone companies.  Swatch, the worldââ,¬â"¢s largest watchmaker reported watch exports rising 6.8 percent from a year earlier as Europeââ,¬â"¢s demand for luxury goods increased.

German ZEW Survey (JUL) (09:00 GMT; 05:00 EST)
                                (Current)          (Economic Sentiment)
Consensus:                 27.0                11.4
Previous:                     23.3                15.1

Outlook: The ZEW survey of institutional investorsââ,¬â"¢ view of German economic sentiment is likely to decline to a reading of 11.4 in August from 15.1 in July, as optimism about economic expansion wanes in the face of consistently higher energy prices and dearer interest rates.    German Chancellor Angela Merkelââ,¬â"¢s plan to increase the value-added-tax (VAT) in 2007 could also cause downside risk to the sentiment reading and may cut into domestic demand in coming quarters as consumers find themselves with limited discretionary income.  German business confidence probably wonââ,¬â"¢t lend any strength to the ZEW reading either, as firms began to respond to the pinch of escalating raw-material costs. Bundesbank President Axel Weber inferred a positive outlook for GDP, however, saying that it is possible to see higher than 2 percent growth in 2006.

Previous: The July reading of the German ZEW survey dropped by the most in almost four years to 15.1 from 37.8 in June. As geopolitical tensions came to the forefront, oil prices jumped to record highs, and stock prices tumbled, consumers and investors alike felt less optimistic about the economy.  GDP is set to experience growth unseen since 2000 at 1.8 percent, but the outlook for 2007 was not as encouraging, with estimates as low as 1.4 percent due to an anticipated reduction in domestic demand amidst the VAT hike next year.

Euro-Zone Industrial New Orders (JUN) (09:00 GMT; 05:00 EST)
                           (MoM)             (YoY)
Consensus:          -0.6%               7.9%
Previous:               2.3%              14.2%

Outlook: Following Mayââ,¬â"¢s spectacular 2.3 percent increase, industrial orders are likely to normalize with a 0.6 percent contraction in the following month.  This decline would fall in line with the reported 0.1 percent drop in industrial production over the same month.  The breakdown of industrial production showed that the rise in energy production compensated for marked decreases in almost every other product area, which doesnââ,¬â"¢t bode well for the orders figure. The short-term outlook still indicates consistent production growth, though, which should give a positive boost to GDP growth for the rest of the year.

Previous: Euro-zone industrial new orders unexpectedly bounded 2.3 percent higher in May versus an anticipated drop of a 0.2 percent decline, with textile orders showing the biggest gain.  As some regions of the manufacturing sector in the Euro-zone continued the push out of recessionary troubles, domestic demand started to fuel order growth.  Further, while other preliminary reports have began to show slowing exports from levels seen at the beginning of the year, a recovery is becoming more likely with business economies like Germany providing a solid foundation for inter-zone demand.

Canadian Consumer Price Index (JUL) (11:00 GMT; 07:00 EST)
                             (MoM)             (YoY)
Consensus:           -0.2%                2.1%
Previous:               -0.2%                2.5%

Outlook: Inflation in the worldââ,¬â"¢s eighth-largest economy is forecasted to decline by another 0.2 percent and in turn bring its annual pace down to the Bank of Canadaââ,¬â"¢s annual target of 2.0 percent.  Contrasting the decline in this headline number, the core figure is in turn expected to rise 0.2 percent for an a rise in its own annual figure to 1.9 percent.  The contradiction between the two different measures seems unfounded since the eight volatile components included in the overall figure and stripped from the core read reported little decline.  In fact, gasoline, crude, natural gas were all materially higher over the period.   This is likely a product of the adjustment to the numbers to reflect the goods and services tax cut that occurred over the month.  While indirect tax effects are accounted for in the Bank of Canadaââ,¬â"¢s report, they are not in the Statistics Canada version.  However, these issues aside, inflation for the period will find heady influence from gas prices surging to recent highs and crude oil rising to historical highs.  As the most up to date unemployment read at the time was still showing a 32-year low 6.1%, firm leaders may have found support to pass the costs onto consumers.  On the other hand, with retail sales data correcting and exports severely crimped by an expensive currency, they may have found fewer reasons to press their luck. 

Previous:  Prices paid by consumers in Canada unexpectedly fell in the month of June, declining by 0.2 percent from May and slowing the annual pace down to 2.5 percent.  The core readingââ,¬â"¢s drop of 0.2 percent was the largest monthly contraction in nearly two years.  While expected to have risen by 0.1 percent, declines in prices were led by natural gas and gasoline.  Declines in gas prices were somewhat moderate, but made a difference nonetheless as they ended up the main contributor to Mayââ,¬â"¢s decline.  Prices for imported goods were also falling over the period despite an exchange rate that made goods purchased abroad more affordable than their Canadian equivalent.   Purchases of foreign computer equipment and supplies were down 15.7 percent for the period while womenââ,¬â"¢s clothing dropped 3.1 percent.  Keeping the inflation read from falling to far into a nosedive were though were firmer home and electricity costs.

Richard Lee is a Currency Strategist at FXCM.