What is an Economic Calendar?
An economic calendar displays scheduled economic reports, events, and announcements that have the potential to move financial markets. Central banks, government agencies, and statistical offices release this data on a regular schedule. Traders monitor these events to anticipate market volatility and identify trading opportunities.
Understanding Impact Levels
High Impact: Major reports that typically cause significant market movement. Examples: Non-Farm Payroll (NFP), Federal Reserve decisions, CPI. These are the "big movers."
Medium Impact: Moderately important data releases. Examples: PMI, Retail Sales, GDP updates, Housing Starts.
Low Impact: Minor reports with limited market impact. Examples: Building Permits, Consumer Confidence, Trade Balance.
ICT News Trading Rules
The ICT Approach: ICT teaches that high-impact news events are used by institutional players to engineer liquidity. Smart Money uses news releases to trigger stop hunts and displace price into new dealing ranges. The key is to identify the likely draw on liquidity BEFORE the news, then trade the reaction — not the event itself.
Pre-News: Flatten positions or widen stops 15-30 minutes before high-impact events. Never enter new trades in the 15-minute window before a red folder event.
Post-News: Wait for the initial spike to complete (usually 5-15 minutes), then look for FVGs and Order Blocks formed during the displacement for re-entry opportunities.
Key Events to Watch
NFP (Non-Farm Payroll): First Friday of every month. Massive market mover for USD pairs.
FOMC Meetings: 8 times per year. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions impact USD and equities globally.
CPI (Consumer Price Index): Monthly inflation data. Critical for central bank policy decisions.
GDP: Quarterly. Measures overall economic output — major trend confirmation signal.