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What is the economic calendar?
Economic calendar, also known as Forex economic calendar or FX Calendar, is a tool that allows traders to make the fundamental analysis of financial markets based on economic news. That is – you will be able to see macroeconomic events that move the market and make Forex trading decisions based on the data.
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What data is included in the economic calendar?
The economic calendar includes information about major economic events, as well as political news and the impact they have on the Forex market. All these financial events are used as economic indicators.
The economic events calendar also shows the time and date of when the indicator data was released, the currency that they are expected to affect, and each indicator's impact level. Most indicators have numerical values, which may be expressed as a percentage or as a currency value. They reflect the impact the particular indicator had or is going to have, either positive or negative.
Our forex economic calendar has three columns to show the value of economic indicators: Previous, Forecast, and Actual:
- Previous shows the value the indicator had in the previous period (usually, one month or one year);
- Forecast shows the estimated value of the indicator based on a survey of 20-240 economists;
- Actual is the value published by an official source like a national statistics agency or an analytical center.
We also provide additional information about the specific indicators and the graphs showing changes in value by month or year – click the indicator you're interested in to learn more.
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How to read the economic calendar?
Sometimes the number of current economic events can be overwhelming. So, first of all, make sure to use filters to see the most relevant indicators for your Forex trading. For example, you can choose currencies that you are planning on trading or the indicator impact.
At the top of our Forex trading calendar, choose the most convenient time zone.
Use numeric values of the indicators to navigate market changes. This is why forecasts and actual release figures are essential. Compare the numbers: if the Actual value is bigger than the forecast, this is good for the currency and it is likely to go up in price; if the Actual value is lower than the Forecast, it is likely to drop.
You can apply similar logic to the Previous and Forecast values before the actual data is released, but be careful – forecasts are always preliminary and actual figures might be drastically different.
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What economic indicators are there?
Economic indicators are major economic events that are used to interpret investment opportunities in Forex trading. They usually are macroeconomic events that affect currencies and stock prices.
The indicators can be leading (predict upcoming changes), coincident (show the current economic state of the particular area) and lagging (confirm patterns and trends).
Top economic indicators:
- The US Treasury Yield Curve – shows the ratio between short-term Treasury bills and long-term Treasury bonds. This indicator successfully predicted eight major recessions of the past years.
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product) – one of the most critical metrics of the economy's health. It is a lagging indicator, so it shows what has already happened, but can be a great marker of an upcoming recession.
- Unemployment Rate – this is a percentage of people seeking jobs and will indicate how healthy the labor force and, thus, the economy really is.
- Interest Rates – another lagging indicator that shows economic growth. It can affect GDP and inflation, so be aware of this one.
These are some of the few important indicators. Make sure to follow our daily trading plans from FBS analysts to learn more about the current trading news events and how they will affect your Forex trading.
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How to trade the news?
The financial events are typically scheduled ahead of time. There are usually predictions ahead of the release (Forecast column in our Forex news calendar) of how it will affect the market. Some traders choose to open positions depending on their expectations of economic indicator reports: if they expect a particular indicator to move the currency up, they buy it and vice versa. Other traders dislike rapid price movements that may happen when indicators are released, so they steer clear of using the FX calendar and trading the news.
There are many news trading strategies: you have to use the one you find best suited for your trading style. FBS, apart from providing all the necessary services for trading, also have all the vital information for any trader's needs. Check out our news section to be aware of possible market movements.
Even if you are not one to trade the news, you should still check the trading economic calendar or read about current economic events regularly because they are likely to affect market volatility.
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Is the economic calendar updated in real-time?
Our major economic events calendar is updated automatically as the reports come out. FBS is there to offer timely updates to the economic calendar, but we cannot be held accountable for any delays due to the immoderate flow of trading news events.
Economic Calendar
List of important economic releases
Time
Impact
Currency
Event
Previous
Forecast
Actual
May 15, 2024
14:00
USD
Business Inventories MoM
{previous}
0.4%
{forecast}
{actual}
Business Inventories in the United States measure the monthly percentage changes in inventories from manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product.
14:00
USD
Retail Inventories Ex Autos MoM
{previous}
0.4%
{forecast}
{actual}
14:00
USD
NAHB Housing Market Index
{previous}
51
{forecast}
{actual}
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) is based on a monthly survey of home builders. They are asked to rate current sales of single-family homes and sales expectations for the next six months and to rate traffic of prospective buyers. Scores for responses to each component are used to calculate a seasonally adjusted overall index, where a number over 50 indicates more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.
14:30
USD
EIA Distillate Fuel Production Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
14:30
USD
EIA Refinery Crude Runs Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
Crude Runs refer to the volume of crude oil consumed by refineries.
14:30
USD
EIA Gasoline Production Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
14:30
USD
EIA Cushing Crude Oil Stocks Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
Change in the number of barrels of crude oil held in storage at the Cushing, Oklahoma during the past week.
14:30
USD
EIA Crude Oil Imports Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
14:30
USD
EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
Stocks of crude oil refer to the weekly change of the crude oil supply situation.
14:30
USD
EIA Distillate Stocks Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
14:30
USD
EIA Heating Oil Stocks Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
14:30
USD
EIA Gasoline Stocks Change
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
Stocks of gasoline refers to the weekly change of the gasoline supply situation.
15:30
USD
17-Week Bill Auction
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
16:00
USD
NOPA Crush Report
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
16:00
RUB
GDP Growth Rate YoY Prel
{previous}
4.9%
{forecast}
{actual}
Russia is one of the world's leading producers of oil and natural gas and is also a top exporter of metals such as steel and primary aluminum. On the production side, services are the biggest sector of the economy and account for 58 percent of GDP. Within services the most important segments are: wholesale and retail trade (17 percent of total GDP); and public administration, health and education (12 percent). Industry constitutes 40 percent to total output and agriculture accounts for the remaining 2 percent.
20:00
USD
Overall Net Capital Flows
{previous}
$51.6B
{forecast}
{actual}
Net Treasury International Capital Flows includes all net foreign acquisitions of long-term securities, short-term U.S. securities, and banking flows.
20:00
USD
Net Long-term TIC Flows
{previous}
$71.5B
{forecast}
{actual}
The Net Long-Term TIC Flows track the flow of Treasury and agency securities, corporate bonds and equities, into and out of the United States.
20:00
USD
Foreign Bond Investment
{previous}
$88.8B
{forecast}
{actual}
Foreign Bond Investment refers to net purchases of US treasury bonds and notes by foreign individuals or companies. Negative figures indicate net sales by foreigners to US residents or a net outflow of capital from the United States.
.
23:40
AUD
RBA Hunter Speech
{previous}
{forecast}
{actual}
In Australia, interest rates decisions are taken by the Reserve Bank of Australia's Board. The official interest rate is the cash rate. The cash rate is the rate charged on overnight loans between financial intermediaries, is determined in the money market as a result of the interaction of demand for and supply of overnight funds.
23:50
JPY
GDP Private Consumption QoQ Prel
{previous}
-0.3%
{forecast}
{actual}
In Japan, final consumption expenditure of households takes into consideration the supply-side estimates as well as the demand-side estimates derived from "Family Income and Expenditure Survey" etc. The final consumption expenditure of households represents the weighed average of demand-side and supply-side estimates.
