Money Minute Friday 8 November: German trade and US consumer confidence

Over in the eurozone this morning, we get Germany's trade balance for September.

The eurozone's biggest economy has been struggling this year and is quite possibly in recession.The latest trade data will give an idea of just how much trade wars have contributed to the pain.

In the US, we get the latest reading from the University of Michigan consumer confidence indicator.Consumption drives around two-thirds of American economic activity, making it the most important driving force of the world's most important economy.

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That means that both the desire and the ability of the US consumer to maintain their spending is vitally important to the global economy as a whole.That's why investors keep a close eye on US consumer confidence.

The good news is that confidence is currently pretty strong, and this month's reading is expected to come in at roughly the same level as last month's.