An economic calendar lists scheduled economic data releases and central bank announcements that are expected to move financial markets. For forex traders, it is the primary tool for knowing when volatility is likely to spike, and whether a signal generated near a major event carries elevated risk.
The calendar covers scheduled macroeconomic releases from central banks and statistical agencies. Each event is rated by its likely market impact: low, medium, or high. High-impact events are the ones that move prices significantly.
| Event | Country | Pairs most affected | Typical impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) | USA | All USD pairs, gold | High, 50-100+ pip moves |
| CPI (Consumer Price Index) | USA, UK, EU | USD, GBP, EUR pairs | High, rate-expectation driver |
| FOMC Meeting / Statement | USA | All USD pairs, gold, indices | High, market-wide |
| ECB Interest Rate Decision | Eurozone | EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY | High |
| Bank of England Meeting | UK | GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, EUR/GBP | High |
| GDP (Gross Domestic Product) | USA, UK, EU, AUS | Respective currency pairs | Medium to High |
| Retail Sales | USA, UK, AUS | Respective currency pairs | Medium |
| PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) | Global | Multiple pairs | Medium |
| Unemployment Rate | USA, EU, UK, AUS | Respective currency pairs | Medium to High |
SignalsTrades runs a Calendar Event rule as one of its 13 signal inputs. The rule checks for high-impact economic events within plus or minus 4 hours of the signal generation time. When a major event is imminent for a pair's currency, the rule adds a directional bias based on the event's expected effect on the currency. For example, a surprise CPI beat in the US adds a USD-bullish bias (BUY USD pairs, SELL EUR/USD).
The calendar data is fetched from the Forex Factory JSON feed and stored in the local database. The system updates the calendar every 60 minutes.
A technically valid BUY signal generated 30 minutes before a high-impact CPI release carries more risk than the same signal generated mid-session with no events nearby. The calendar does not automatically cancel signals, but traders who use it effectively adjust their position size or wait for the release before entering. Some traders avoid entering entirely within 1 hour of a high-impact event, regardless of signal quality.
When SignalsTrades fires the Calendar Event rule, it applies a directional bias: which direction the imminent event historically pushes the affected currency. These are broadly accepted economic relationships:
These relationships hold most of the time but are not absolute. Markets sometimes move in the opposite direction of the headline if investors had already priced in a larger move ("buy the rumor, sell the news").