High-impact news
A scheduled release with a strong record of moving markets sharply — for example inflation, employment data or an interest-rate decision.
Full explanation
High-impact news describes economic releases and announcements that regularly cause a large, immediate reaction: central-bank rate decisions and press conferences, inflation figures, employment reports, growth data and major policy statements.
The impact rating reflects the potential for movement, not a direction. A high-impact release can also produce very little if the result matches expectations — what matters is the surprise relative to what was already priced in.
Around these releases, spreads widen, liquidity thins and price can move a long way in seconds before settling. The first move is frequently not the lasting one.
Why traders watch it
Knowing when high-impact news lands is the simplest form of risk control available. Most avoidable losses around news come from holding through a release without intending to.
In the Trading Plan and on Market Events, high-impact releases drive the risk windows and shape the guidance for the day.
Trading considerations
- Decide before the release whether you are in or out — not during it.
- Allow the release candle to close before assessing anything.
- Levels behave unreliably in the first minutes after a major release.
Educational guidance only — never a trading signal or recommendation.
Related indicators
Asian session
The overnight session driven by Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore, typically quieter and range-bound.
Clear direction
When one side is plainly in control: price makes progress one way and pullbacks are shallow.
Consolidation
A pause in which price moves tightly sideways, often after a strong move, while the market absorbs it.
First spike
The sharp, immediate move in the seconds after a release or a level breaks — usually the least reliable part of the whole move.
Holding a move
When price stays at its new level after a move instead of drifting back — the sign that the move was accepted.
Key level
A price area the market has clearly reacted to before, and is therefore likely to be watched again.