Tools

Economic Calendar

Every market-moving event, live, rate decisions, NFP, CPI, so you are never surprised.

This week's events

Every release, all importance levels. Click an event to see the actual, forecast and previous figures.

Market news

Live headlines behind the numbers.

How to read this

High-impact US prints (CPI, NFP, the Fed) are when gold and FX spreads widen. Filter by country if you only trade the dollar. The fold is a map, not a signal.

The big releases, explained

A handful of reports move markets more than the rest. Here is what each one measures, when it comes out and why traders watch it.

CPI

Consumer Price Index (US)

Monthly, around mid-month, 8:30 New York time

What it measures: How much the prices people pay for everyday goods and services changed. It is the main measure of inflation.
Why it moves markets: Inflation drives interest rates. A hotter number than expected makes rate hikes (or fewer cuts) more likely, which usually lifts the US dollar and weighs on gold and stocks. A cooler number tends to do the opposite.

Watch: USD pairs, gold, US indices

NFP

Non-Farm Payrolls (US jobs report)

Monthly, usually the first Friday, 8:30 New York time

What it measures: How many jobs the US economy added last month, outside farming. It comes with the unemployment rate and wage growth.
Why it moves markets: Strong hiring and rising wages point to a strong economy and sticky inflation, so the dollar often rises. Weak numbers raise the odds of rate cuts. Moves can be sharp in the first minutes, and spreads can widen.

Watch: USD pairs, gold, US30 and US100

Rate decision

Central bank interest rate decisions (Fed, ECB, BoE)

About every six weeks for each bank, with a press conference after

What it measures: The central bank sets its main interest rate and explains how it sees the economy.
Why it moves markets: Higher rates make a currency more attractive to hold. Markets react to the decision itself and even more to hints about the next moves, so the press conference can move prices more than the headline.

Watch: The bank's currency, gold, indices

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

Quarterly, with first estimates and later revisions

What it measures: The total value of everything a country produced. It is the broadest measure of economic growth.
Why it moves markets: Faster growth supports the currency and stocks. A surprise slowdown can hit both and bring rate cuts closer.

Watch: The country's currency and main index

PMI

Purchasing Managers' Index

Monthly, early in the month (flash estimates late in the month before)

What it measures: A survey of business managers. Above 50 means activity is growing, below 50 means it is shrinking.
Why it moves markets: It is one of the first signals of where the economy is heading, before the official data arrives. Big surprises move currencies.

Watch: EUR, GBP, USD and CNY-linked markets

Retail sales

Retail Sales

Monthly, mid-month

What it measures: How much consumers spent in shops and online.
Why it moves markets: Consumer spending is a large part of most economies. Strong spending supports growth and the currency, weak spending raises worries about a slowdown.

Watch: USD, GBP, indices