Forex Economic Calendar
Forex Economic Calendar
Track high-impact economic releases that move the forex market. Know when to pause your EAs, tighten your stops, and stay out of the market.
Key Economic Events Every EA Trader Should Know
These are the releases that cause the biggest market moves. If you're running automated trading systems, knowing this schedule is essential.
Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)
US jobs report. First Friday of every month. Routinely causes 50–150 pip moves on EUR/USD within minutes. Pause all EAs unless specifically designed for news trading.
FOMC Rate Decision
Federal Reserve interest rate announcement. 8 times per year. Markets can spike 100+ pips in seconds. Gold (XAU/USD) often moves 2,000–5,000 pips.
CPI (Inflation Data)
Consumer Price Index. Monthly. Directly influences rate expectations. Unexpected readings cause sharp moves across all USD pairs and gold.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
Quarterly economic growth figures. Significant for the currency of the reporting country. Advance estimates cause bigger moves than revisions.
Central Bank Speeches
ECB, BOE, BOJ, and RBA press conferences. Unexpected forward guidance can move markets more than the rate decision itself. Watch for hawkish/dovish language shifts.
PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index)
Manufacturing and Services PMI. Monthly. Above 50 = expansion, below 50 = contraction. Flash PMI often moves markets more than final readings.
How to Use This Calendar With Your EA
Before high-impact events
If your EA uses a grid, martingale, or averaging strategy, close all open positions or disable the EA 15–30 minutes before a high-impact release. These strategies rely on mean reversion — but news events create directional moves that can blow through grid levels and cause catastrophic drawdown.
Scalping EAs
Scalping EAs that target 5–15 pips should be paused during high-impact releases. Spreads can widen to 20–50 pips on EUR/USD and 5,000+ pips on gold during NFP or FOMC, meaning your EA could open a trade and immediately be in deep negative territory.
Trend-following EAs
Some trend-following EAs perform well during news events because they thrive on volatility and directional movement. If your EA is designed for this, ensure your stop losses are appropriately sized for the expected volatility — our drawdown calculator can help you model worst-case scenarios.
Time zone awareness
This calendar lets you select any major trading timezone from the dropdown — including UTC, New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney. If your EA runs on a VPS, set the dropdown to match your broker's server time to see exactly when events will fire relative to your EA's clock. A misconfigured time offset is one of the most common causes of unexpected losses during news events.
More Free Trading Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I stop my EA during news events?
It depends on your EA's strategy. Grid, martingale, scalping, and mean-reversion EAs should be paused 15–30 minutes before and after high-impact events. Trend-following EAs may actually benefit from the volatility. When in doubt, pause — missing one trade is better than blowing an account.
What is the most important economic event for forex traders?
US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), released on the first Friday of every month at 13:30 UTC, is widely considered the single most market-moving event. It routinely causes 50–150 pip swings on EUR/USD and thousands of pips on gold within minutes. FOMC rate decisions are a close second.
What does high, medium, and low impact mean?
Impact levels indicate the expected market reaction. High-impact events (red) like NFP, CPI, and rate decisions typically cause significant price movements and spread widening. Medium-impact events (orange) like retail sales and employment data can move markets but usually less dramatically. Low-impact events (grey) rarely cause noticeable market moves and are generally safe to trade through.
What time zone is the calendar in?
The calendar auto-detects your local time zone by default. You can switch to any major trading timezone using the dropdown above the calendar — including UTC, New York, London, Tokyo, Sydney, and more. Choose the one that matches your broker's server time for the most accurate comparison.
Why do spreads widen during news events?
Liquidity providers widen their quotes during high-impact releases because the risk of being on the wrong side of a sudden move increases dramatically. Spreads on ECN accounts can jump from 0.1 pips to 20+ pips on EUR/USD and from 10 pips to 5,000+ pips on gold during NFP or FOMC. This is normal market behaviour, not broker manipulation.
Why do so many EAs fail during news events?
Most EAs are designed for normal market conditions — predictable spreads, orderly price movement, and consistent liquidity. During high-impact news, all three break down simultaneously. Grid EAs get their levels blown through. Scalpers can't close at expected prices. Martingale systems double down into a one-way move. The solution isn't a better EA — it's knowing when to turn your EA off.