Module 1: Reading the Forex Factory Calendar

Forex Factory is the free economic calendar most news traders use. Learning to read it correctly is the foundation of everything else on CalendaFX. This module shows you exactly what every column means and how to filter for only the events worth trading.

What the impact colours mean

Every event has a coloured folder icon showing its expected market impact:

• Red folder — High impact. These move the market significantly: interest rate decisions, NFP, CPI, GDP, FOMC statements. These are the events you trade.
• Orange folder — Medium impact. Can cause moderate moves: retail sales, PMI, consumer confidence. Worth watching, occasionally worth trading.
• Yellow folder — Low impact. Minor data that rarely moves price much. Usually safe to ignore for news trading.

As a beginner, filter the calendar to show only red and orange events. This removes the noise and lets you focus on what actually matters.

The three numbers: Previous, Forecast, Actual

Each event shows three figures, and understanding the relationship between them is the single most important skill in news trading:

• Previous — what the number was last time it was released.
• Forecast — what analysts expect this time. The market has already “priced in” this expectation.
• Actual — the real number when it is released. This appears the moment the event goes live.

The market reacts to the gap between Forecast and Actual — not the raw number itself. A jobs number of 200,000 sounds strong, but if the forecast was 250,000, the market sees it as a disappointment and the currency falls. This gap is called the “surprise” and you will learn to trade it in Module 4.

Revisions — the hidden detail most beginners miss

Sometimes the Previous figure has a small arrow or different colour. This means the earlier number was revised after the fact. A strong-looking Actual can be undermined if the Previous month was revised sharply lower. Always glance at whether revisions are positive or negative — they change the true story.

How to filter for high-probability events

On Forex Factory, click the Filter button (top right) and set it to show:

• Impact: High and Medium only
• Currencies: the ones you trade (USD, EUR, GBP are the big three)
• Time zone: set it to your local time so you never miss a release

This turns a cluttered calendar into a clean shortlist of tradeable events for the week ahead.

Your action step

Open Forex Factory now. Set your time zone, filter to High and Medium impact, and identify every red-folder event this week. Write down the day, time, and forecast for each. This is exactly the routine you will repeat every trading day.

Next: Module 2 covers the five releases that matter most — NFP, CPI, FOMC, GDP and PMI — and exactly how each one moves the market.