FREE ECONOMIC CALENDAR

Forex economic calendar — every release that moves your pair

Yesterday, today, this week and next week, with actual, forecast and previous values, impact and currency filters, and every time converted into your own timezone. It is the same feed that draws the news markers inside the FxBacktest chart — so the release you read here is the release you will replay bar by bar in a backtest.

4 VIEWS — YESTERDAY TO NEXT WEEK YOUR LOCAL TIMES + COUNTDOWN 9 CURRENCIES · 3 IMPACT LEVELS USUAL DIRECTION PER SYMBOL
HOW TO READ THE CALENDAR

Three numbers decide how hard price moves

A release almost never moves a market because the number was good or bad. It moves because the number was different from what the market already expected — and the calendar shows you that gap directly.

Previous

What the same indicator printed last time. It is the baseline the forecast is built on, and a revision to it can move price on its own even when the new number lands exactly as expected.

Forecast

The consensus estimate. This is what is already priced in — if the actual matches it, the release usually passes with a spread widening and little else.

Actual

The published number. The distance between actual and forecast is the surprise, and the surprise is what the market repositions around — which is why the table flags it with an arrow the moment it lands.

THE DIRECTION PANEL

Which way does a release usually push your symbols?

Knowing that US inflation came in hot is only half a read. The half that matters is what it conventionally does to the dollar, and therefore to EURUSD, to gold, to the Nasdaq. The panel beside the table answers exactly that, one pill per instrument — and it is the part that opens when you log in.

The read is mechanical, not predictive. It takes three things — whether the number beat or missed, whether a higher number conventionally strengthens or weakens that currency, and which side of the pair the currency sits on — and combines them into a direction. Nothing is estimated and nothing is forecast.

Polarity is not always the obvious way round, which is the whole reason the panel exists. A higher unemployment rate, more jobless claims or a bigger import bill are all higher numbers that conventionally weaken a currency. Equity indices flip again: a hot CPI strengthens the dollar and tends to hurt the Nasdaq, while strong jobs data lifts both.

When a release has no standard read — a speech, a bond auction, a vote split, a positioning report — the panel says exactly that instead of inventing a direction for it. That is deliberate. A calendar that claims to know which way a central banker's press conference will go is not telling you anything.

Then prove it instead of believing it

The point of a direction read is not to trade it on sight. It is to give you something specific to test: load that pair on the day of that release in the backtester, replay the candles around it, and find out what actually happened to your entry, your stop and your spread. The calendar tells you where to look — the backtest tells you whether it is worth trading.

IMPACT LEVELS

What the red, orange and grey dots actually mean

Impact is the feed's estimate of how much a release typically moves price. Filter the table down to high impact only and you have your day's real risk schedule on one screen.

LEVELTYPICAL RELEASESWHAT IT USUALLY DOES
HIGH Interest rate decisions, CPI, non-farm payrolls, GDP Moves a major pair tens of pips in seconds, widens spreads sharply and can take out stops on both sides of price before settling.
MEDIUM PMIs, retail sales, trade balance, sentiment surveys Produces a visible move that is usually absorbed within the hour. Worth knowing about if you are already in a position.
LOW Minor indices, second-tier surveys, weekly stock reports Rarely moves anything on its own. Shown so the calendar is complete, and easy to filter away.
CALENDAR + BACKTESTING

Stop guessing whether news helps or hurts your strategy

Every trader eventually argues with themselves about news. Trade through it and catch the move, or stand aside and keep the account calm? The honest answer is that it depends on your strategy, your timeframe and your stop distance — and you can measure it in an afternoon instead of arguing about it for a year.

  • Note the high-impact dates for your pair on this calendar.
  • Replay those sessions bar by bar in the backtester, with the same entry rules you always use.
  • Run the same period again, skipping any trade within thirty minutes of a red release.
  • Compare expectancy, drawdown and win rate between the two. Now you have an answer that is yours.

The chart carries the same calendar inside it, so releases appear as markers on the candles while you replay — you see the bar the number landed on, not a date in a separate tab. Related reading: how to backtest forex properly and risk and reward explained.

FAQ

Economic calendar questions

What is a forex economic calendar?
It is the schedule of macroeconomic releases that move currency prices — inflation prints, interest rate decisions, payrolls, GDP, PMIs and trade data — with the time each one is published, the number analysts expect (forecast), the number published last time (previous) and, once it lands, the number actually released (actual). Traders read it to know when a market is about to become unusually volatile.
Where does this calendar's data come from?
From Dukascopy's economic calendar — the same feed that draws the news markers inside the FxBacktest chart. The page paints from a cached slice that is refreshed nightly, then calls Dukascopy live from your browser to fill in any Actual released since that refresh. The footer under the table tells you which of the two you are looking at.
What do high, medium and low impact mean?
Impact is the feed's own estimate of how much a release typically moves price. High-impact events — rate decisions, CPI, non-farm payrolls — routinely move a major pair tens of pips in seconds. Medium impact moves price but is usually absorbed. Low impact rarely moves anything on its own. You can filter the table to any combination of the three.
What time zone are the release times in?
Your own. Every time is converted from the release's UTC timestamp into the timezone your browser reports, and the footer names that timezone so you can confirm it. On the TODAY tab, releases still ahead also show a live countdown.
How do I know which way a release pushes my pair?
The panel beside the table reads the release for you: whether the number came in above or below its forecast, whether that conventionally strengthens or weakens the currency, and which of the instruments you can trade usually move up or down with it. It is a mechanical textbook read, not a prediction, and it opens once you log in — and every new account can start a free 7-day Pro trial.
Should I trade through a high-impact news release?
That is exactly the question backtesting answers for you rather than an opinion worth taking from a website. Spreads widen, slippage appears and stops get taken out in both directions around big releases. Replay those days bar by bar in a backtest, once with news trades and once without, and let your own numbers decide.
Is the economic calendar free?
Yes. The calendar, the filters, the four tabs and every actual, forecast and previous value are free and need no account. Only the direction read on the right — the currency bias and the per-symbol arrows — needs you to be logged in.

Replay the release instead of reading about it

Open any of 26 markets on the day of any release and step through it candle by candle, placing real trades with real spread, real commission and real drawdown. Free account, no card required.

START BACKTESTING FREE →
FREE PLAN · NO CARD REQUIRED

For educational and practice purposes only. Calendar data is provided by a third party and may be delayed, revised or incomplete; the direction read describes a conventional reaction, not a prediction. Nothing here is financial advice.