Forex Factory Calendar
The forex factory calendar has become an indispensable tool in my trading toolbox. Knowing what economic reports and central bank meetings are coming up is so important for planning my trades.
What Exactly is the Forex Factory Calendar?
For those who aren’t familiar, the forex factory calendar is a free online calendar on the Forex Factory website that lists upcoming economic data releases and other events that could impact currency markets. It shows the scheduled time, report name, country, and previous and estimated figures. You can also filter it by date range and toggle between different views like list, weekly, or monthly formats.
I really like that the calendar automatically adjusts to your timezone too. As someone trading from home most of the time, it’s convenient to see when reports are coming out in my local time rather than having to do the conversion myself. It also includes a legend to help understand the potential market impact of different reports, from high to low.
Why I Rely on It for My Trading
There are a few key reasons I always check the forex factory calendar before placing any trades:
- It helps me plan my trade entries and exits around big reports. I like to get positioned before high impact data to take advantage of volatility but close out before the release to avoid unpredictable swings.
- Seeing what’s coming up helps with my overall market analysis. If I know central bank meetings are coming, for example, I factor that into my bias for whether a currency pair will strengthen or weaken in the near future.
- I use it to find trading opportunities. Sometimes less prominent reports on the calendar still cause big spikes that I can hop in and out of for quick profits. It’s about being prepared for anything.
- Confirming scheduled times prevents surprises. A few times I’ve almost been caught off guard before realizing a report time was changed on me at the last minute. Better safe than sorry!
- Staying on top of upcoming market events is half the battle and the forex factory calendar streamlines that whole process for me. I always have it open in a browser tab for quick reference throughout the day.
Other Great Features
Beyond the basic event listings, the forex factory calendar offers some nice bonus features too:
- Export Options – You can export the calendar to CSV, JSON, XML formats for importing into other platforms. This is handy for pulling into trading apps on the go.
- Shareable Links – Permalinks allow easily sharing specific date ranges with other traders. I’ve used these to ask for second opinions before big reports.
- Multiple Views – In addition to list view, there are weekly and monthly views that help visualize the flow of reports over different timeframes.
- Sister Site Calendars – You also get calendars tailored for commodities and crypto that I check for additional trading ideas outside forex.
- Historical Data – Want to analyze past reports? Just click on entries to view the historical figures released, which is great for learning patterns.
- It’s the little things like that that make the forex factory calendar so full-featured and the preferred choice for many retail traders. You can really tell a lot of thought went into its design.
How I Incorporate it Into My Routine
At this point, checking the forex factory calendar is just part of my daily trading routine. Here’s a typical example of how I use it:
In the morning I’ll pull up the calendar on my computer to scan what’s coming in the next 24 hours. I make note of any high impact reports so I can watch for setups around those times. Then throughout the day I keep the calendar open on my second monitor as a constant reference.
Before placing a trade, I confirm there are no reports scheduled in the next hour that could kill it. If I see something coming, I may opt to sit out or set tighter stops. If I’m in a trade and a report is approaching, I decide whether to close early or ride it out depending on conditions.
At the end of each week I’ll also review the next 7 days to get my game plan straight for the upcoming period. On weekends, I like zooming out to the monthly calendar to identify any notable multi-week economic themes.
It’s become second nature to always have the forex factory calendar within view. Honestly, I don’t know how traders managed their schedules before it existed!
Final Thought
If you’re not already using the forex factory calendar regularly in your trading, I highly recommend adding it to your process. Knowing what’s on deck is half the battle when it comes to navigating the volatility of market events. Its clean interface and great features make staying on top of the schedule effortless.
For a free, highly-functional forex calendar that I trust, the forex factory calendar is tough to beat. It’s been an invaluable addition to my toolkit for planning trades and analyzing upcoming opportunities. I can’t imagine trading without constantly referencing it now. Give it a try – you’ll see why it’s a favorite amongst so many retail traders.