What is the most important economic calendar?

The most important economic calendar is the US one due to the dominance of the dollar and the United States being the largest economy in the world. Before we move on to look at the biggest factors that influence the US dollar, let’s discuss the importance of an economic calendar for traders.

Why do I need an economic calendar?

For example, IronFX’s real-time Economic Calendar covers economic events and indicators from all over the world, where you can see the most important news daily, within the week, and remain updated with the biggest movers for the coming week. It is a reliable calendar that you can trust, and an expert team of analysts updates it daily. If you are a fundamental or a news trader, using a calendar such as this one will come in handy and help you remain organized and ready to trade efficiently. IronFX’s economic calendar should be your constant companion and remain open as a tab on your computer so you are alerted to the latest news.

Trading FX with fundamental analysis

To trade Forex through фундаментальный анализ means that you have to check how economies around the world are doing. To do so, a trader would need to be informed about each country’s macroeconomics data (such as GDP, employment, consumption data, inflation, etc.), and watch closely those countries whose currencies s/he is trading.

Better manage your trades

To better manage your trades and avoid bad surprises, you can check when high volatility data is expected to be released so you are always prepared. In the US, the most important news includes the Nonfarm Payrolls, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and FOMC minutes, PMIs and retail sales, to name a few. For the euro, the ECB President Lagarde’s speech and the ECB’s interest rate decision are key drivers, as well as the BoE’s Governor Bailey’s speech and BoE’s interest rate decision. GDP, retail sales, employment data and services and manufacturing PMIs are some of the main macroeconomic data that can move the currencies of any of these major economies.

Economic calendars forex trading are available for free from financial and economic websites. However, not all economic calendars are the same or include the same economic releases as these may depend on the users of these websites and the events they may be interested in.

For example, many websites’ economic calendar includes only events in the United States as these events have a greater impact on the markets. Other websites may provide their own tailored economic calendar with filters showing certain events and choosing to hide others.

Traders can create their own economic calendar by going to websites where they can find releases that affect their investments the most such as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve or the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Their free calendars can be very helpful, but traders can customize their own calendars with the releases that interest them the most.

You can create an economic calendar that focuses on oil by including a wide range of releases from oil-producing regions, the weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or the quarterly filing dates of the oil sector companies you wish to follow. In this way you create a bespoke tool that alerts you to the releases you want to focus on, helping you act with precision, and without wasting time.

Trading economic events

Important economic news or events can create big swings and very often a single movement can go several percent in one direction. This is why it is important to know which events or releases can influence the markets so you can improve your trading. If you are trading the news using an Economic Calendar, you can enrich your knowledge by reading educational and market news analysis. IronFX’s expert research team prepares daily market articles and in-depth analyses, highlighting the biggest events that can cause significant currency movements in the US and other major economies.

How do I read an Economic Calendar?

• Check the time for each release

All data is shown in chronological order for each day of the week. So on Monday, you can see when each release from each country will be out and what the consensus may be. Will the figures come in below or according to expectations? When new releases are out, the calendar page is automatically refreshed so you do not miss it.

• Countries and currencies

A flag icon indicates the country of the data release so you can quickly see what currencies might be affected today or on some specific days.

• Impact

Under the volume you can see, low, medium, and high, so you know which events will have the greatest impact on the market.

• Actual/Consensus/Previous

For all economic calendar indicators, you will find the Previous number which is the last release (the frequency could be last month, last trimester, etc. depending on the release). For most indicators, we include a Consensus number which is the general view of experts on the outcome of the number. When the Actual data is released, you can see it on the right side next to Consensus and Previous so you can draw useful comparisons.

Rewards of using an Economic Calendar

The economic calendar is a helpful tool and traders of all skill levels and experience can use it to access and monitor important events across multiple markets.

Plan ahead

If you are an active CFD trader, or you are targeting a specific market such as forex and want to check the economic calendar daily, you can determine which events or releases will cause market volatility for those currencies you are trading. For example, the foreign exchange calendar would allow you to prepare ahead of the release of the NFP report which tends to create significant volatility for the greenback but also other related currencies.

Управление рисками

Risk management is very important in trading and all traders should include a solid risk management plan in their strategy. Markets are always unpredictable and extremely volatile market conditions can easily wipe out your account if you’re not careful and you trade without a plan. Being prepared with the help of a calendar will allow you to make informed decisions and have the opportunity to target any upcoming events that may create significant moves in the market.

If you have an exit strategy like scalping in place you may protect against risk. So when important releases have an effect on the markets, you will be able to focus on making small profits off small price changes.

Understanding market dynamics

An economic calendar will help you improve your understanding of how the global markets work. With an economic calendar, you can monitor the news, examine how currencies react to certain news and gain greater insight into a potential market you may want to enter. Once you are properly prepared and have the knowledge, you will be able to determine the right entry and exit points and start trading confidently.

Disclaimer:
This information is not considered investment advice or an investment recommendation, but instead a marketing communication. IronFX is not responsible for any data or information provided by third parties referenced, or hyperlinked, in this communication.

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