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Forex Economic News Impact Cheat Sheet

Your complete reference guide for trading major economic news releases with proven strategies, risk management rules, and optimal timing.

📊 Updated Monthly • ⚡ Quick Reference • 🎯 Actionable Strategies
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🚨 HIGH IMPACT NEWS EVENTS

🇺🇸 USD Events

  • • Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) - 1st Friday
  • • Federal Reserve Rate Decision
  • • FOMC Meeting Minutes
  • • Core CPI & CPI Data
  • • GDP (Quarterly)
  • • Unemployment Rate

🇪🇺 EUR Events

  • • ECB Rate Decision
  • • ECB Press Conference
  • • Eurozone CPI Flash Estimate
  • • German IFO Business Climate
  • • Eurozone GDP

🇬🇧 GBP Events

  • • Bank of England Rate Decision
  • • UK CPI & Core CPI
  • • UK Employment Change
  • • UK GDP

📊 NEWS TRADING STRATEGIES

🎯 Breakout Strategy

Place pending orders above/below consolidation range before news

  • • Set buy stop 5-10 pips above resistance
  • • Set sell stop 5-10 pips below support
  • • Cancel unfilled order after breakout

⚡ Straddle Strategy

Place buy & sell orders equidistant from current price

  • • 15-20 pips above & below current price
  • • Use OCO (One Cancels Other) orders
  • • Best for high volatility news

🔄 Fade Strategy

Trade against initial news reaction (contrarian)

  • • Wait for initial spike to exhaust
  • • Look for reversal signals
  • • Higher risk but good R:R potential

⚠️ RISK MANAGEMENT RULES

Before News (Pre-Market)

  • ✓ Reduce position size by 50% or more
  • ✓ Widen stop losses to account for volatility
  • ✓ Check economic calendar daily
  • ✓ Avoid trading 30 min before major news

During News Release

  • ✓ Use tight stop losses (10-15 pips max)
  • ✓ Trail stops quickly on profitable moves
  • ✓ Monitor spreads - they widen significantly
  • ✓ Be ready to exit if price whipsaws

🕐 KEY TRADING TIMES (GMT)

London Open 08:00 GMT
NY Open 13:00 GMT
London/NY Overlap 13:00-17:00 GMT
US NFP Release 13:30 GMT

📈 VOLATILITY INDICATORS

LOW VOLATILITY

ATR < 50 pips • Tight ranges • Avoid news trading

MEDIUM VOLATILITY

ATR 50-100 pips • Good for breakouts • Standard risk

HIGH VOLATILITY

ATR > 100 pips • Extreme caution • Reduce size

Pro Tip: Check VIX and currency volatility indices before major news events

💱 CURRENCY PAIR REACTIONS TO NEWS

News Type Typical Reaction Best Pairs to Trade Expected Move (pips)
US NFP Strong USD reaction EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY 50-150 pips
Fed Rate Decision Broad USD impact All USD pairs 100-300 pips
ECB Rate Decision EUR volatility EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY 75-200 pips
CPI Data Inflation expectations Currency-specific pairs 30-80 pips
GDP Release Economic strength Major pairs 20-60 pips

✅ PRE-NEWS TRADING CHECKLIST

📋 Preparation (2 hours before)

⚡ Execution (15 minutes before)

⚠️ Remember: News trading is high-risk, high-reward. Never risk more than 1-2% of your account on a single news trade!