The Valentine’s Day is one of the days during a year that brings the biggest amount of money to an economy.
An interesting fact is that for this holiday people buy presents not only for their lovers but for families and friends as well. That is why consumer spending increases a lot. This year US consumers are expected to contribute to the economy nearly $19.6 billion, even more than last year record of $18.6. It is an important indicator because consumer spending is the largest part of GDP, it contains nearly 70% of the output.
Valentine’s Day has an influence on markets as well. The five best-selling gifts are candy, greeting cards, evening out, flowers and jewelry. It means that these industries will be more volatile before and during the February 14. Prices and demand significantly increase in these markets. For example, Japanese chocolate industry gets more than half of its $5 billion in annual sales on Valentine’s Day. Countries, where these industries are more developed, will get the higher profit on the holiday. These profits will contribute to retail sales and consumer spending data for February.
At the same time, if we look at the dynamics of stock indexes during the Valentine day itself, the picture will not be as rosy. It turns out that since 1928 the S&P 500 has closed up on just 40% of Valentine’s Days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen on 14 February just 43% of the time. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but maybe traders just more eager to spend time with their loved ones than to buy stocks. Or maybe this time stocks will get luckier?
Making a conclusion, we can say that the Valentine’s Day has an impact on markets and Forex market as well. The huge money contribution has a positive influence on a domestic economy. Countries with more developed industries, that are popular on Valentine’s Day, have higher profit. This effect will have a medium-term impact on the market. However, stock markets depreciate on the day of love.
