How to Read an Economic Calendar

A forex economic calendar is useful for traders to learn about upcoming news events that can shape their fundamental analysis. This article will explore the WikiFX economic calendar in depth, offering tips on how to read a forex economic calendar to plan ahead, manage risk, and execute strategic trades.

WHAT IS AN ECONOMIC CALENDAR？

An economic calendar is a resource that allows traders to learn about important economic information scheduled to be released. Such events might include GDP, the consumer price index, and the Non-Farm Payroll report. In todays environment of fiscal cliffs and central bank intervention, it can be very helpful to know the date of the next central bank meeting or major news announcement.

The events on the calendar are graded low, average and high, depending on their likely degree of market impact. This is what the WikiFX economic calendar looks like.

WikiFX economic calendar

HOW TO READ THE FOREX ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Knowing how to read the forex economic calendar properly is important to maximize your trading prior to and following the most important releases. Checking the calendar every morning will allow you to familiarize yourself with the upcoming events that matter.

In default mode, the calendar will show you every piece of economic news coming out for the major economies. For many, that will be information overload, so you may want to customize the look.

WikiFX News Flash

CUSTOMIZING YOUR FOREX ECONOMIC CALENDAR VIEW

In order to customize the economic calendar, you can look at events in the past, today and in the future by clicking on buttons such as “Monday”, “Wednesday” and “Next Week”. Next, select the “Country” and “Importance” buttons to look at the events that are most relevant to you.

For example, if youre trading JPY/USD and want to focus on recent news coming out of Japan and the United States that is of high importance, your filter would look like this:

Once you select the “Japan” and “United States” buttons, you should only see Japan and US news announcements that have a high possibility to move the market should the news surprise traders and institutions.

JPY and USD News

TOP BENEFITS OF USING A FOREX ECONOMIC CALENDAR

The top benefits of using the WikiFX forex economic calendar include:

Being able to manage risk effectively

Being in a position to plan ahead

Having access to extra, helpful features for customisation

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