Economic Indicators in forex
Economic indicators are the scheduled releases that show how an economy is actually performing: inflation (CPI), jobs (such as Non-Farm Payrolls), growth (GDP) and activity surveys (PMIs). Each one moves its currency by changing what traders expect the central bank to do next.
These guides explain what each release measures, why the number versus the forecast matters more than the number itself, and how a beat or a miss tends to push the currency.
Guides
2 in-depth guides on economic indicators.
How to Trade CPI Inflation in Forex
Inflation data is one of the two biggest scheduled movers in forex. Here is what CPI measures, why the market trades the gap to the forecast rather than the print itself, and how a beat or a miss feeds through to the currency.
NFP Trading Guide: How Non-Farm Payrolls Move Forex
NFP is the heavyweight of the economic calendar. Here is what the report actually contains, why headline jobs are only half the story, and how a beat or a miss feeds through to the dollar via the Fed's rate path.
Key terms
Plain-language definitions of the terms behind economic indicators.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
What is CPI? The Consumer Price Index measures the average change in prices paid by consumers, and is the most widely followed inflation indicator in forex.
Core Inflation
What is core inflation? Inflation excluding volatile food and energy prices, the measure central banks trust most when deciding interest rates.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
What is GDP? Gross Domestic Product is the total value of all goods and services a country produces, and the primary indicator of economic health in forex.
Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)
What is NFP? Non-Farm Payrolls is a key US employment report released the first Friday of each month, and one of the most market-moving releases in forex.
Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)
What is PCE? Personal Consumption Expenditures is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, tracking consumer spending and accounting for substitution effects.
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
What is PMI? The Purchasing Managers Index is a survey-based gauge of business conditions in manufacturing and services, and a leading indicator for forex.
Retail Sales
What is retail sales? The monthly measure of consumer spending at shops and online, one of the fastest reads on economic demand and a regular currency mover.
Unemployment Rate
What is the unemployment rate? The share of the labour force without a job, a core input for central bank policy and a monthly market mover in forex.
Releases that move this
The scheduled data and decisions where economic indicators show up in price.