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Module 7 · Sessions and economic releases

Sessions and economic releases — Trading Academy

Understand scheduled information and its limitations without treating a calendar result as an automatic trading instruction.

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First lesson: Read session times correctly. No sign-up required.

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Lesson 1 of 4

Read session times correctly

Not completed

By the end of this lesson

  • Translate reference windows using named time zones.
  • Separate a session clock from broker execution availability.

Suggested preparation: Read a currency quote

Read the reference guide

Work it through

Compare the London–New York reference overlap during a normal week and a UK/US daylight-saving mismatch week. Check both named time zones instead of applying one fixed UTC offset.

Check your understanding

1. Why can the London–New York overlap change temporarily in UTC?
2. A session clock says London is active. What does this establish?

Lesson 2 of 4

Read an NFP release

Not completed

By the end of this lesson

  • Distinguish current payroll change, forecast and revisions.
  • Keep payroll and unemployment measures conceptually separate.

Suggested preparation: Read session times correctly

Read the reference guide

Work it through

Write a mock release with +180,000 actual payrolls, +150,000 forecast and −40,000 combined prior revisions. Keep the current surprise and revisions in separate fields.

Check your understanding

1. Payroll growth is +180,000 against a +150,000 forecast, while prior months are revised down by 40,000. What is the current-month surprise?
2. Why can payroll growth and the unemployment rate move in ways that look inconsistent?

Lesson 3 of 4

Compare like-for-like CPI figures

Not completed

By the end of this lesson

  • Separate index levels from inflation rates and rate surprises.
  • Match monthly/annual and headline/core measures when comparing figures.

Suggested preparation: Read an NFP release

Read the reference guide

Work it through

Create a release note with one monthly headline figure, one annual headline figure and one core figure. Label seasonal-adjustment status and match each with the corresponding forecast.

Check your understanding

1. Annual CPI inflation falls from 4.2% to 3.8%, remaining positive. What does that mean?
2. Monthly CPI is 0.4% against a matching forecast of 0.2%. What is the difference?

Lesson 4 of 4

Read beyond the FOMC headline

Not completed

By the end of this lesson

  • Separate the decision, statement, projections and later minutes.
  • Explain why an unchanged policy rate can still accompany market repricing.

Suggested preparation: Read an NFP release, Compare like-for-like CPI figures

Read the reference guide

Work it through

Make a four-part note template: rate decision, statement changes, projections when released, and press-conference context. Keep later minutes in a separately dated entry.

Check your understanding

1. The FOMC leaves its target range unchanged. Can other information from the meeting still matter to markets?
2. What do the FOMC projection dots represent?

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Prepared by InsomniCapital. Checked 2 October 2026. Sources and detailed assumptions appear in each linked guide. Read the risk disclosure.