
What is an economic calendar?
An economic calendar displays, inter alia, scheduled announcements about economic events, data releases related to economies of countries, and important financial news.
Typically, an economic calendar shows a number of days, weeks, or months in advance. Each day indicates the news events and data releases in chronological order.
Events listed on an economic calendar are released at different intervals, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Generally, most events occur monthly.
Economic events and announcements are usually graded, depending on which economic calendar you use. Less important events or news are either marked as ‘Low’ (= low effect) or are without any marking. Events or announcements marked ‘Medium’, or with a yellow dot or yellow square beside them, call for some caution. Markings such as red dots, red squares, or ‘High’ signal that a significant event or a data release is highly likely to impact a market or markets in a significant way.
Generally, economic events are updated automatically upon the release of new information and data, 24 hours a day.
What is an economic event?
An economic event is an event that may affect the performance of an individual security’s price, financial markets as a whole, or currencies of countries. Put in other words, it is an event of economic significance.
Generally, economic events include statements from central banks of countries, for instance with regard to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country, announcements by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and legislation, concerning financial issues, passed by governments.
Scanning a South African economic calendar on the website of Trading Economics, you will find the following economic events from October 12 until the end of November 2025: Manufacturing production, gold production, mining production, retail sales, building permits, unemployment rate, inflation rate, core inflation rate, Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), M3 money supply, private sector credit, producer price index (PPI), balance of trade, foreign exchange reserves, and the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) business confidence.
In addition to the release dates of economic events, as well as descriptions of the economic events, an economic calendar will usually include the following data:
- Time of day
The time of the release of economic data is important because, depending on the type of event, the minute in which the data is published may cause considerable volatility in a particular financial market.
- Index of volatility
The severity of a potential market impact of an economic event is categorised by using a colour-coded scale.
- Impacted currency
With regard to a forex economic calendar, the currency that is particularly impacted by the specific event is noted. For instance, if the South African Reserve Bank is scheduled to make an announcement concerning its future monetary policy, the South African rand will be flagged as the currency most likely to be influenced.
- Previous economic data release
A previous data release is the actual data from a preceding economic event of the same type. It is used as a reference to determine improvement or decline. It also provides historical context.
- Industry consensus
Industry consensus refers to the expectation regarding an upcoming economic event in a specific industry.
To be expected, a global economic calendar, or an economic calendar of the USA, is much more comprehensive than a South African one.
The importance of using an economic calendar
- An economic calendar is a resource that enables traders to learn about upcoming economic events and to understand the dynamics of market changes – the reasons why they change and how much a market will probably change.
- An economic calendar helps traders to anticipate major market events and plan their trades accordingly.
- Occurrences of economic events that impact markets can be tracked and their effects are measured.
- Events that can massively impact the financial markets can be closely monitored.
- Enables traders to stay alongside of key market movements that can affect open trades.
- Traders are allowed to consider trades in the context of economic events and to understand price movements during these events. For example, by following news and data about a country’s GDP, inflation, or unemployment, traders can anticipate market volatility and secure potential trading opportunities in advance.
- Investors and traders utilise economic calendars to plan trades, as well as to be observant of chart patterns and indicators that may be caused or impacted by the particular economic events.
Using a forex economic calendar in forex trading
It is important to be aware of upcoming events on the forex economic calendar daily in order to make sure that you are well-informed of any major events that are likely to influence the financial markets, including the forex market. Simply put, plan ahead.
It is essential to read the calendar properly in order to make the best of your trading prior to and following the most influential news and releases.
A forex economic calendar prioritises events according to their degrees of market impact – low, medium, and high. The forex market is particularly susceptible to economic events of high impact. In addition, events that impact the price movements of a particular currency can be closely monitored.
Use the economic calendar to compare the economies behind each currency in a currency pair.
Know in advance of upcoming economic events or data releases that may cause unforeseen volatility, affecting your trading in a negative way, such as open positions. Due to increased market volatility, trading on the basis of news events can cause significant slippage.
In order to mitigate potential losses due to a period of volatility, traders have to practise risk management. Typically, risk is measured as the difference between your entry price and stop loss price, multiplied by the size of your position. Traders should aim to keep the risk percentage below 2% of the equity in a trading account.
All the information provided on a forex economic calendar could be overwhelming for many traders. To reduce information overload, most trading platforms provide a facility to enable a trader to customise the economic calendar according to his or her preferences. This facility allows a trader to, inter alia, set alerts for specific upcoming economic events, choose specific timeframes, and apply filters, making it more suitable to a trader’s specific trading strategy.
Note: This article does not intend to provide investment or trading advice. Its aim is solely informative.
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