Learning how to use an economic calendar comes down to three habits: filter it to high-impact events for your markets, note each release in UK time, and decide before the week starts what you will do at that moment. The numbers matter less than the gap between what was expected and what arrived.
Quick answer: how do you use an economic calendar?
Each week, list the high-impact releases for your markets and convert their times to UK time. Compare the consensus forecast with the previous figure so you know what is expected. Then choose one plan per release: stand aside, reduce your size, or wait for the first reaction to settle before entering.
What an economic calendar shows
An economic calendar is a timetable of scheduled data releases and central bank decisions. Each line shows the time, the country or currency, the event, an impact rating and three numbers: actual, consensus and previous.
Most brokers and news sites publish one free, all drawn from the same official releases.
Impact levels
Calendars rate events as low, medium or high impact, usually with colours or stars. That rating is the provider’s judgement of how much the release tends to move prices, not an official label, so two calendars can disagree.
For a beginner, high impact is the filter to start with. Interest rate decisions, inflation, jobs data and GDP move currencies, indices and gold far more than most other lines.
Consensus, actual, previous and revisions
The three numbers tell you what the market expected and what it got. Price tends to react to the surprise, not to whether the figure is “good” in isolation.
- Previous: the last reading, which gives you context and a trend.
- Consensus (or forecast): the average expectation of economists surveyed. Much of it is usually already in the price.
- Actual: the new figure, filled in the moment it is released.
Take a hypothetical case: if UK inflation is expected at 3.0% and arrives at 3.0%, there may be little reaction. If it arrives at 3.4%, traders reassess the chances of higher interest rates, and sterling can move sharply within seconds.
Why revisions matter
The previous figure is often changed in the same release. The US jobs report gives a first estimate for the latest month and revises the two months before it as more survey replies come in.
UK GDP works the same way: the ONS explains that early estimates are built on incomplete data and updated as more arrives. So a headline that beats consensus can still disappoint if last month was revised down, which is one reason price sometimes moves the “wrong” way.
Key UK and US releases in UK time
Most of the releases that matter to UK traders arrive at fixed times. UK figures keep their UK time all year. US times are fixed in US Eastern time, so they shift for you when the two countries change their clocks on different dates.
| Release | UK time, most weeks | UK time, gap weeks |
|---|---|---|
| UK CPI, GDP and jobs (ONS) | 07:00 | 07:00 |
| Bank of England rate decision | 12:00 | 12:00 |
| US jobs report and US CPI | 13:30 | 12:30 |
| Federal Reserve rate decision | 19:00 | 18:00 |
The ONS has released its market-sensitive statistics at 07:00 since March 2020, instead of the usual 09:30. It is now consulting on release times for market-sensitive statistics, closing on 30 October 2026, so check that slot before you rely on it next year.
The autumn 2026 gap week
UK clocks go back on 25 October 2026 and US clocks on 1 November, so for that week every US release arrives an hour earlier in UK time. The Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting calendar shows a 27-28 October meeting, so that decision is due at 18:00 UK, not 19:00.
The next spring gap runs from 14 to 28 March 2027. Our guide to the best time to trade forex in the UK sets out the sessions around these releases, and gold traders should add the London auction times from the best time to trade gold in the UK.
How to plan your trades around a release
We decide what to do with each high-impact release before the week begins, not when the number lands. Our weekly routine looks like this:
- On Sunday, filter the calendar to high impact for your markets and write each release in UK time.
- Mark which open trades and planned entries are exposed to each one.
- Choose a plan per release: stand aside, reduce size or wait for the reaction.
- Set alerts ten minutes before each release, with the gap weeks adjusted.
Stand aside, reduce size or wait
Standing aside means no new entries in the minutes around the release, which is often the cleanest choice. Reducing size suits a trade you want to keep through the number. Waiting for the reaction means letting the first candles close, then judging the level with price action, as in our list of conditions when not to trade at all.
Spreads and slippage at the release
In the seconds around a major release, prices can jump and liquidity can thin out. Spreads often widen, and a stop can be filled some distance beyond its level, which is called slippage.
Spread bets and CFDs are leveraged, so slippage on a large position can turn a planned small loss into a much bigger one. That is the main reason we avoid entering just before a number.
A worked example: holding a trade through US data
Example: on a hypothetical £4,000 account risking 1%, the normal maximum loss is £40. You are long a dollar pair on Thursday with a 40-pip stop, and the US jobs report is due on Friday at 13:30 UK time.
You decide to keep the trade but halve the risk through the release. You close half the position, leaving £0.50 per pip, so the planned loss at the stop is £20 instead of £40.
If the stop slips 15 pips on the release, the loss is about £27.50 rather than £55 at full size. Our guide to calculating position size for spread bets and CFDs shows how to set the stake in the first place.
Common mistakes
- Reading the headline only. A beat with a big downward revision is not a clear beat.
- Forgetting the gap weeks. An alert set for 13:30 is an hour late in late October.
- Trading every release. Pick the few that move your markets and ignore the rest.
- Entering seconds before the number. The spread alone can reach a tight stop.
- Guessing the result. Positioning on a forecast is a bet on the surprise, not a price action setup.
Frequently asked questions
Which economic calendar events matter most?
Central bank rate decisions, inflation, jobs data and GDP are the releases that most often move currencies, indices and gold. Start with the high-impact events for the countries behind the markets you trade.
Should I close my trades before high-impact news?
Not always, but decide in advance. Many traders reduce size or tighten their plan rather than close, and some stand aside completely; what matters is that the possible loss, including slippage, is one you can accept.
Why did the currency fall when the data beat expectations?
The previous figure may have been revised down, another part of the release may have disappointed, or the move may already have been priced in. A single headline rarely tells the whole story.
What time is US economic data released in the UK?
Most major US data comes out at 8:30am Eastern time, which is 13:30 UK time for most of the year. In the weeks when US and UK clocks differ, it arrives at 12:30 UK time.
Next steps
Use this checklist each Sunday for a month. For the wider weekly routine, see our guide on how to prepare for a big week in forex, read what moves the US dollar, and add your release rules to a written trading plan with a fill-in template.
When not to trade and a filters and trigger process are both covered in our price action trading course, and the basics section is free to start.
This article is for education only and is not financial advice. Trading leveraged products such as CFDs and spread bets carries a high risk of losing money.
