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Module E · Fundamentals·Lesson 3

The Economic Calendar

Your single most important tool as a trader

4 sections · 2 quiz questions · ~5 min read

Guided course path

Keep the economic calendar inside the live track.

You are reading a reference lesson. The live course path gives you the lesson order, checks, saved progress, and next step. This live path connects market structure to companies, macro drivers, and earnings context.

Closest track: Stocks, ETFs, and Equities MacroFirst lesson: What a share actually represents
Start live lessonOpen live track map

What It Is

An economic calendar is a list of upcoming economic data releases. Free ones on Forex Factory, Investing.com, and Myfxbook. You should check it every single morning before you trade — same as checking the weather before you leave the house.
Wick points at a meter with the needle deep in the high impact zone labeled NFP, CPI, FOMC, teaching how calendars rank events by how much they move markets.Low impactHigh impactNFP, CPI, FOMC?
Wick saysHigh-impact events like NFP, CPI and FOMC can move price fast; low-impact ones barely move it.

Reading Impact Levels

Calendars mark events as low, medium, or high impact. HIGH impact (red) can move the market 50+ pips in seconds. Watch out for: NFP, CPI, FOMC decisions, GDP, rate decisions. Low impact (yellow) barely moves anything — ignore.
Wick stands by a scale with forecast on one side and a heavier actual that came in higher, teaching that the surprise between the two is what moves price.ForecastExpectedActualCame in higher?
Wick saysMarkets react to the gap between forecast and actual, not the number itself.

Forecast vs Actual

Each event shows a "forecast" (what analysts expect) and an "actual" (what comes out). The market reacts to the DIFFERENCE, not the number. A beat = actual better than forecast = currency usually strengthens. A miss = opposite.
Wick holds a shield labeled calendar that blocks a falling news spike, teaching that a daily calendar check protects you from being surprised by big releases.News spikeCheck every dayCalendar
Wick saysCheck the calendar every morning and open no new trade within 15 minutes of high-impact news.

The Golden Rule

NEVER open a new trade within 15 minutes of a HIGH impact event. NEVER let an existing trade stay open through one without tightening your stop. Nothing kills accounts like "I forgot NFP was today." Check. The. Calendar.
Quick check

Did it stick?

Try to answer each one before you peek at the explanation.

1

Which of these is typically HIGH impact news?

2

If the actual number matches the forecast, the market usually has a big reaction.