Forex Fundamentals
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Forex Economic Indicators

Forex economic indicators are the scheduled releases that show how an economy is doing: jobs, inflation, growth and business surveys. Each one moves its currency by changing what traders expect the central bank to do next. These guides explain what each release measures and how to read it.

The guides

  • What Is NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls)?

    What is NFP? Non-Farm Payrolls is the monthly change in US payroll jobs, published by the BLS at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time and watched closely by forex traders.

  • What Is CPI (Consumer Price Index)?

    What is CPI? The Consumer Price Index measures the change in the prices US consumers pay for a basket of goods and services, and forex traders watch it.

  • What Is PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures)?

    What is PCE? The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index measures US consumer prices, and the Federal Reserve sets its 2% inflation goal on it.

  • What Is PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index)?

    What is PMI? The Purchasing Managers’ Index is a monthly business survey: above 50 means a sector is growing, below 50 shrinking. How forex reads it.

  • What Is GDP (Gross Domestic Product)?

    What is GDP? Gross Domestic Product is the value of the final goods and services an economy produces. How the US figure is published and how forex reads it.

  • What Is Core Inflation?

    What is core inflation? Inflation without food and energy prices, which swing the most. Central banks watch it to judge the trend, and so do currency traders.

  • How to Trade CPI Inflation in Forex

    How to trade CPI inflation in forex: read the report against its forecast, check core and the monthly change, and follow the expected path of interest rates.

  • NFP Trading Guide: How Non-Farm Payrolls Move the Dollar

    NFP trading guide: why the jobs report moves the dollar, why the surprise against the forecast counts, and why wages and revisions can outweigh the headline.

  • What Is Retail Sales?

    What is retail sales? The monthly measure of consumer spending at shops, car dealers, petrol stations, restaurants and online stores, and how it moves FX.

Where to see it in the data