Reading a chart

The news clock

A calendar tells you when a report is due. It does not tell you which way the price will jump.

Lesson 4 of 4 • 9 min

A clock and a chart at the minute of a scheduled report — Example. A jobs number is due at 14:30. At 14:29 the spread is 1 pip. At 14:30 it is 7 pips. The calendar told you the minute. It did not tell you the direction.

Study material only. It is not a signal to buy or sell. AcademyTrade is education. It is not a broker, not investment advice, and not a promise that you will make money. Trading can lose the money you deposit.

Central banks, jobs reports, and inflation numbers pull people into the market at a known minute. Before the number, the spread often widens because dealers do not want to be the other side of a surprise. After the number, the first move is frequently reversed. Both of those are common. Neither is a rule you can spend.

The practical use of a calendar is negative. It tells you when not to pretend the market is ordinary. If the report is on your session, the one-page plan should already say what you will do: stand aside, or trade a written scenario with a size you can lose.

Reading the story after the candle has closed is not analysis. It is a caption. Write the caption in the journal if you want, and keep it out of the rule.

Know the clock. Do not invent the direction.

Check the calendar before the session, not during the release.
If there is no written plan for that release, watch.
Record the spread in the minute before and the minute after.