Impact
Low, medium or high. High-impact releases can move a major pair 50–150 pips in minutes and widen spreads sharply.
Free tool · Economic calendar
Economic calendar for professional traders
What is an economic calendar? An economic calendar is a schedule of upcoming macroeconomic releases and central bank events — interest rate decisions, inflation (CPI), jobs reports, GDP and PMI data — with each event's release time, expected impact, forecast, previous value and the actual result once published.
Professionals read it before every session: it decides when to trade, when to reduce size and when to stay flat while spreads blow out around a release.
How to read it
Impact, forecast, previous, actual
Forecast
The analyst consensus. Markets price the forecast in advance — price moves on the surprise, not the number itself.
Previous
The last reading, sometimes revised. A big revision can matter as much as the new figure.
Actual
The released value. Actual vs forecast tells you whether the data was a positive or negative surprise for the currency.
Events that move African pairs
What professionals mark on the calendar
US Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)
First Friday of the month, 08:30 New York. The single biggest monthly mover for USD pairs and gold — and for USD/ZAR.
US CPI & FOMC rate decisions
Inflation and Fed decisions reprice the dollar across the board. FOMC statements land at 14:00 New York, late evening in Africa.
ECB & Bank of England decisions
Drive EUR and GBP during the London session — the hours most African traders are active.
SARB, CBN & CBK policy meetings
South African Reserve Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria and Central Bank of Kenya rate decisions move USD/ZAR, USD/NGN and USD/KES directly.
FAQ
Economic calendar, answered
What is an economic calendar in forex?
An economic calendar is a schedule of upcoming macroeconomic releases and central bank events — interest rate decisions, inflation (CPI), jobs reports, GDP and PMI data — with each event's release time, expected impact, forecast, previous value and the actual result once published.
How do professional traders use an economic calendar?
They check it before every session: flat or reduced positions ahead of high-impact releases, wider stops or no new entries in the minutes around the number, and trade plans built around the gap between forecast and actual.
Which economic events move USD/ZAR, USD/NGN and USD/KES?
US data (NFP, CPI, FOMC) moves all three through the dollar side. Locally, SARB rate decisions and South African CPI move the rand; CBN MPC decisions and FX policy announcements move the naira; CBK rate decisions move the shilling.
Should beginners trade during high-impact news?
Usually not. Spreads widen, slippage increases and stops can fill far from their level. Use the calendar to stay out of the market around high-impact releases until you have a tested news plan.