Check before you enter
Opening a position twenty minutes before a high-impact release is a different trade from the one your chart suggested. Know what is scheduled before you click.
Economic calendar
Scheduled releases, expected impact, previous readings and consensus forecasts. Knowing what is due in the next two hours prevents more losses than any indicator.
How to trade around the calendar
Expect spreads to widen
Liquidity thins in the seconds around a release. Spreads widen, slippage increases, and stop orders may fill well beyond your level. This is market structure, not broker behaviour.
The reaction beats the number
What matters is the surprise relative to consensus, and how positioning was leaning beforehand. A strong number in a market already positioned for it often moves very little.
The releases that move markets most
| Release | Region | Typical schedule | Primary impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Farm Payrolls | United States | First Friday, 12:30 GMT | USD pairs, gold, US indices |
| Consumer Price Index | All majors | Monthly, varies | The currency and its rate expectations |
| Central bank rate decisions | All majors | Scheduled meetings | Currency, bonds, indices |
| GDP releases | All majors | Quarterly, three estimates | Currency and domestic index |
| PMI surveys | All majors | Monthly, start of month | Currency, leading indicator |
| Crude oil inventories | United States | Wednesday, 15:30 GMT | Crude and energy complex |
| Retail sales | All majors | Monthly | Currency and consumer names |