Finance
Economic Calendar — What It Is and How to Read It
An economic calendar is a schedule of macro data releases — jobs, inflation, GDP, central-bank decisions — that consistently move financial markets.
The most market-moving releases (US)
| Release | When | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) | First Friday of the month, 8:30 AM ET | Headline US jobs number — moves the dollar and Treasuries within seconds. |
| CPI (inflation) | Roughly the 10th–15th of the month, 8:30 AM ET | Key Fed-decision input. Surprise moves of even 0.1% can shift rate expectations. |
| FOMC rate decision | 8 meetings per year (see below) | The single most important macro event for US markets. |
| GDP (advance) | Last Thursday of January, April, July, October — 8:30 AM ET | Quarterly growth print — first read on the prior quarter. |
| Retail Sales | Mid-month, 8:30 AM ET | Consumer demand check, especially around holiday quarters. |
| PCE Price Index | Last business day of the month, 8:30 AM ET | The Fed's preferred inflation gauge. |
| Initial Jobless Claims | Every Thursday, 8:30 AM ET | Weekly labor-market pulse — moves bond yields immediately. |
| ISM Manufacturing PMI | First business day of the month, 10:00 AM ET | Early read on factory activity; below 50 signals contraction. |
Where to find a live economic calendar
Free options with low-latency updates:
- Investing.com economic calendar — most comprehensive global coverage, filterable by impact level.
- ForexFactory — fast, minimal UI, popular with traders.
- Trading Economics — cleanest mobile experience, historical data overlays.
- Bloomberg Terminal (paid) — the institutional gold standard.
How to subscribe in your calendar app
None of the major free providers offer official iCal feeds. Workarounds: Trading Economics has an RSS feed of upcoming high-impact events; Calendly-style services like Tradays publish .ics for their curated event lists.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 'high-impact' event on an economic calendar?
An event that historically moves the relevant currency or asset by more than a typical day's range within minutes of release. NFP, CPI, and FOMC decisions are textbook high-impact events.
What time do US economic releases come out?
Most US data drops at 8:30 AM Eastern Time. Notable exceptions: ISM PMI at 10:00 AM, FOMC at 2:00 PM, Fed minutes at 2:00 PM.