US Economic Numbers to Keep an EYE On

The rankings for US economic data as seen in below table are based on an analysis of 20-minute and daily ranges. As seen in below table for example, the Non-farm Payroll release days can cause a big shake up in the forex market. They have the potential to move the EUR/USD (on average) 123 pips in 20 min and 193 pips in a day on average.

Biggest FX market “shakers” table

1. Non Farm Payroll (NFP):

NFP represents all business employees excluding general government employees, private household employees, and employees of nonprofit organizations, accounting for about 80% of the workers who contribute to GDP. NFP is released every first friday of the month and can cause big gaps on the forex market.


NFP Release Schedule: First Friday of the month at 8:30am EST

2. FOMC Decision

The FOMC holds eight regularly scheduled meetings per year. If the FOMC wants to increase economic growth, it will reduce the target fed funds rate. Conversely, if it wants to slow down the economy, it will increase the target rate with a rate hike.

3. Trade Balance:

The difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade is known as a trade surplus and consists of exporting more than your imports; a negative balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or, informally, a trade gap. The Trade Balance also has a sizable impact on GDP.

4. Consumer Price Spending (CPI):

CPI measures the change in prices at the consumer level for a fixed basket of goods and services paid for by a typical consumer. Items included in the CPI reflect all goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living.

5. Retail Sales:

Retail sales is the first real indication of the strength of consumer expenditure .Measures the percentage monthly change in total receipts of retail stores, and includes both durable and non-durable goods.

6. Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

There are four major components of the GDP are: consumption, investment, government purchases, and net exports. GDP measures the market value of goods and services produced in a country.

7. Current Account

The current account is the sum of net income from trade in goods and services, net factor income, and net unilateral transfers from abroad. It's a statement of the country's trade with other nations over a period of time.

8. Durable Goods Orders:

Durable Goods include large ticket items such as capital goods, transportation and defence orders. They are extremely important because they anticipate changes in production and thus, signal turns in the economic cycle. 

9. TICS