ICT Decoded · News and the Economic Calendar
How Do You Use the Economic Calendar for Trading NQ?
By Steve H — reads every firm’s official rulebook, checks prices and codes daily, and maintains the Enigma Score · Methodology · Editorial policy · Last updated November 1, 2026
ICT concepts were created and are taught by Michael J. Huddleston, The Inner Circle Trader (X · YouTube). This lesson is FundedEnigma’s own summary, not affiliated with or endorsed by ICT.
In short: Filter the economic calendar to US-dollar, high-impact releases, write down their times, and mark the liquidity before each one. On 2020-2026 NQ data, release minutes were about six to eleven times a typical minute and both sides of the hour before were traded far more often, but the first move held or failed about as often as on other days.
How to Use the Economic Calendar: What CPI, NFP and FOMC Do to NQ (ICT, Tested) · 6:41 · published November 1, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
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The full video is embedded above this article: How to Use the Economic Calendar: What CPI, NFP and FOMC Do to NQ (ICT, Tested). This page is the written version, with every chart walked through step by step. Jump to any part of the video:
Key facts: news and the calendar at a glance
| Part | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Filter | US dollar, high impact (the red ones) |
| CPI | Inflation report, 8:30 AM New York time, monthly |
| Jobs report | Non-farm payrolls, 8:30 AM, usually the first Friday of the month |
| Fed decision | 2:00 PM at eight scheduled meetings a year; press conference at 2:30 PM |
| ICT's idea | News does not decide where price goes; it is the catalyst that delivers price to the liquidity |
| Release minute (our data) | CPI almost 11×, jobs report about 8×, Fed about 6× the same minute on other days |
| Both sides of the hour before | CPI about 38, jobs about 53, Fed about 64 in 100, against about 16 (8:30) and 9 (2 PM) on other days |
| First move | Undone by the close about half the time, the same as on other days |
Last verified 2026-11-01. All charts below are real historical CME NQ futures data, shown in New York time. "Other days" means weekdays without CPI, the jobs report or a Fed decision.
Here is what a release minute can look like. On September 11, 2026, at 8:30 AM, the inflation report came out and in that one minute price moved 195.50 points. On days without CPI, the jobs report or a Fed decision, the 8:30 minute typically moves about 9.50. In that same minute, price traded both the high and the low of the hour before.
What is the economic calendar, and how do you filter it?
It lists the week's scheduled reports, with the time and how much each tends to move markets. For Nasdaq futures, filter it to the US dollar and to high impact, the red ones. Three releases stand out:
- CPI (consumer price index), the inflation report, at 8:30 AM New York time, once a month.
- The jobs report (non-farm payrolls), usually on the first Friday of the month, also at 8:30 AM.
- The Federal Reserve's rate decision, at eight scheduled meetings a year, at 2:00 PM, followed by the press conference at 2:30 PM.
In those minutes prices can jump past orders: a stop can fill well beyond its price, and spreads widen. Know your own account's rules around news, and see our lesson on stops, sizing and trailing.
What does ICT say news does?
ICT (Michael J. Huddleston) teaches that big scheduled news does not decide where price goes. It is the catalyst that delivers price to the liquidity already sitting above old highs and below old lows. So the calendar tells you when a big move is likely; your chart tells you where the liquidity is.
What does it look like on real charts?
Example 1: CPI, September 11, 2026
- The hour before the report, from 7:30 AM, has a high of 29,399.00 and a low of 29,296.75.
- The 8:30 minute has a high of 29,399.50 and a low of 29,204.00: both sides of the hour before in one minute. Which one went first, a one-minute chart cannot tell you.
- The first five minutes close 51 points lower. By the 4:00 PM close price is 48 points above that, at 29,386.75. The session from 9:30 to 4:00 used less than half of an average day's range.
Example 2: the jobs report, March 6, 2026
- The hour before has a high of 24,878.00 and a low of 24,805.50.
- The 8:30 minute has a 173.75-point range, through both of them. The first five minutes close 40 points lower.
- This time the first move held: price kept falling and closed almost 156 points lower, at 24,667.75.
Example 3: the Fed at 2 PM, March 18, 2026
- The hour before 2:00 PM has a high of 24,884.75 and a low of 24,795.50.
- At 2:00 price takes the high. The first five minutes close 26 points higher.
- At 2:34, after the press conference starts, price takes the low. By the close it is almost 255 points below where those first five minutes ended. Here the first move was undone.
What does the data say about news days?
Release minutes were far larger and both sides of the hour before were traded far more often, but the first move was no guide. We marked the inflation reports, jobs reports and scheduled Fed decisions from January 2020 to September 2026, leaving out a few early-close days, and compared them with days without CPI, the jobs report or a Fed decision.
- The release minute: the inflation minute was typically almost eleven times an ordinary 8:30 minute, the jobs report about eight times, the 2:00 PM Fed statement about six.
- Both sides: the high and the low of the hour before were both traded within the hour after on about 38 in 100 inflation mornings, 53 jobs-report mornings and 64 Fed afternoons. On other days, about 16 in the morning and 9 in the afternoon. For inflation, about two in three of those happened inside the release minute itself. That is what news running liquidity looks like in the numbers.
- The first move: the first five minutes' direction was undone by the close about half the time, the same as on other days. Within the hour, a little more often, not enough to make a rule. So do not assume the first move is the fake, and do not assume it is the real one.
- The day's range: measured as the 9:30-4:00 range against the 20-day average range, release days used a bit more, Fed days the most: about half reached a full average day's range, against about a quarter on other days. Some used less than half.
- The day before: the day before a release used the same share of the range as any other day.
How do you use it in your own charting?
Know when, and mark where.
- At the start of the week, filter the calendar to the US dollar and high impact, and write down the times.
- Before a release, mark the liquidity: the old highs and lows nearby, and the high and low of the hour before. In our data, both sides of that hour were traded far more often on release days than on other days.
- Sitting it out: some traders sit out the day before a big report, or the whole morning. That is a personal choice; in our data, the day before used the same share of its range as any other day.
More concepts in the series are on the ICT Concepts Decoded hub. If you trade futures with a prop firm, you can look up a firm's rules on the challenges page or set two firms side by side on the compare page. Affiliate disclosure: FundedEnigma earns a commission from some of the firms on this site when you sign up through our links or codes, at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
What time are CPI, the jobs report and the Fed decision released?
CPI and the jobs report come out at 8:30 AM New York time; the Fed's rate decision at 2:00 PM at its eight scheduled meetings a year, with the press conference at 2:30 PM.
What is red folder news?
High-impact releases on the economic calendar, usually shown in red. For Nasdaq futures, filter the calendar to the US dollar and high impact.
How much does NQ move on CPI?
On our 2020-2026 data, the CPI release minute was typically almost eleven times an ordinary 8:30 minute; on September 11, 2026, it moved 195.50 points.
Is the first move after news a fake?
Not by rule. On our data, the first five minutes' direction was undone by the close about half the time, the same as on other days.
Should I avoid the day before CPI or the jobs report?
That is a personal choice. On our data, the day before a release used the same share of the day's range as any other day.
Sources
- Concept: news as the catalyst that delivers price to liquidity, as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston). The statistics, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Release dates: US Bureau of Labor Statistics release archives (CPI and the Employment Situation); Federal Reserve FOMC meeting calendars (scheduled meetings).
- Data: every chart and count are real historical CME Nasdaq-100 E-mini (NQ) futures data, shown in New York time.
- Video: How to Use the Economic Calendar: What CPI, NFP and FOMC Do to NQ (ICT, Tested), FundedEnigma.
Last verified: 2026-11-01. Written by Steve H.
Disclaimer: This page is for education only and is not financial advice. It does not describe any firm's rules. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss. Past price behaviour does not guarantee future results.
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