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Forex Journal Team

June 13, 20262 min read

How to Use an Economic Calendar for Trading: Complete Guide

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The Economic Calendar: Your Trading GPS

An economic calendar shows upcoming news events, their expected impact, and previous values. Every serious trader starts their day by checking it.

High-Impact Events

Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)★★★★★Monthly (1st Friday)
FOMC Interest Rate Decision★★★★★8 times/year
CPI (Inflation Data)★★★★☆Monthly
GDP★★★★☆Quarterly
Retail Sales★★★☆☆Monthly
Initial Jobless Claims★★★☆☆Weekly (Thursday)
PMI Data★★★☆☆Monthly

How to Trade News

#### Method 1: Don't Trade (Recommended for Beginners)

Close all positions 30 minutes before high-impact news. Wait 15-30 minutes after the release. Let the initial volatility settle. Then look for a setup.

#### Method 2: Straddle (Advanced)

Place a buy stop and sell stop on either side of the current price, 15-20 pips out. When price breaks in one direction, the other order gets cancelled. This catches the initial move.

Risk: Spread widens significantly during news. Your buy stop might fill 5 pips above where you expected.

#### Method 3: Retracement Entry (Intermediate)

Wait for the initial spike. Markets often retrace 30-50% of the initial move within 10-30 minutes. Enter in the direction of the overall reaction on the retracement.

News Categories

Dovish (Bearish for USD)
  • Weak data (low NFP, falling CPI, low GDP)
  • Fed cutting rates
  • Increased stimulus
Hawkish (Bullish for USD)
  • Strong data (high NFP, rising CPI, high GDP)
  • Fed raising rates
  • Tapering stimulus

Pro Tips

  1. Don't trade the release, trade the reaction — the market often takes 5-15 minutes to fully price the news
  2. Revision matters — last month's data revision can be more impactful than this month's release
  3. Expectation vs reality — if NFP is 200K vs 180K expected, moderately bullish. If it's 400K vs 180K, extremely bullish
  4. Context matters — during a crisis, bad news gets ignored; during normal times, it matters greatly

Log every news trade in your journal with your preparation notes and the actual outcome. Over time, you'll learn which events work for your style.

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