It might sound obvious, but US federal interest rates have a humongous impact on the forex market, especially when it changes to those rates occur. Changes to the US federal interest rate can move the forex market at full force, as they are a direct or indirect response to other, alternative economic indicators. Rate changes can also come as a surprise, potentially impacting traders in a big way, so it is important that traders know how to predict and respond to these movements.

If you’re a forex trader, reading reports is going to become second nature. Detailing the ins and outs of a country’s economic performance, the right reports will allow you to stay one step ahead of the market. If you’re able to grasp the core data within a report, you should be able to make your forex trading efforts more efficient. The durable goods orders (DGO) report might not be a headline-grabbing report, but its importance shouldn’t be disregarded. The following breaks down the DGO report, addressing what it is, how to read it, and why it’s important.

If you’re a forex trader, you face more reports, indicators, and surveyed data than you probably know what to do with. While there is plenty of data that traders should keep an eye on, the consumer confidence index represents especially important. To help you further understand the consumer confidence index, the following explains what it is and what it entails.

Though many of us have heard of the unemployment rate, few actually know what it is, what it means, and why it’s important to forex and currency traders. For a trader, the unemployment rate is incredibly important, as it—in its own way—reveals something about the current state of a nation’s economy. The following looks at how the unemployment rate can impact currency prices, and gives three examples of when that will likely be the case.

Video Transcript:

Hello, everyone. It's Paul here for ValuTrades. It's the end of my trading day. I've been asked to have a quick chat with you about trading environments, in particular, understanding when your instruments or your asset class, whether it's in a range-bound or a trending environment. Both offer opportunity, but it's important to know which is the correct environment we're in and what is really the right sort of strategies and tactics to use within that environment.

Hello, traders! Well, we are rapidly approaching the end of the first calendar quarter of 2018. Time has flown and it’s fair to say that it has been an eventful first few months of the year. Let’s look at some of the significant moves that we’ve seen so far.

The major event of this quarter would have to be the market correction at the beginning of February—within a day or so of Janet Yellen leaving her role as Head of the Federal Reserve, the market took a tumble which removed all of the gains from the preceding few months. Traders watched and waited to determine whether this would be the start of something more ominous. Let’s look at some charts:

If you like to trade Economic News Events, you will know that Central bank Interest Rate decisions are almost always big movers of the markets.

Each month, investors and economic analysts cast an eye over a number of key reports. Since 1951, the Retail Sales Index (RSI) report has solidified its status as one of the most important of these, largely due to its overview of the value of merchandise sold within the retail trade sector. Calculated by reviewing a selection of companies engaged in the business of selling end products to consumers, the report has always been a true testament to how companies of all sizes—from Walmart down to small-town stores—are collectively impacting the US economy.

To help you understand its consistent relevance, the following breaks down the RSI report, explaining why it’s important and how you should approach it from a forex trading perspective.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) is an index of prices that is weighted and measured at the producer—or wholesale—level. This report is released on a monthly basis from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and shows different trends that take place within the wholesale markets, the manufacturing industries, and the commodities markets. The PPI was originally known as the Wholesale Price Index, and all industries that produce physical goods in the United States are represented. It should be noted that imports are not included.

There are plenty of people out there who have never heard of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. In short, it’s a weighted average of goods and services that consumers use. This can include a variety of things, such as food, transportation, and even medical care and medications. The CPI is determined by taking the changes in price for the “basket” items of goods and services, and then averaging them out. Any change in the CPI is used to assess the cost of living—therefore, the CPI is one of the statistics used most often for identifying times of deflation and inflation.