GDP, PMIs, ISM, retail sales and the surveys that arrive before the hard data.
Growth data tells you how fast an economy is running, which sets the backdrop against which every inflation and employment print is read. This course covers GDP, the manufacturing and services PMI surveys, the US ISM reports, retail sales, industrial production and consumer confidence — and, running through all of them, the trade-off between the timely surveys the market trades and the accurate hard data that arrives too late to matter.
intermediate · 7 lessons · 1h 10m
What you'll cover
GDP Growth Rate QoQThe most authoritative growth number, and the least tradeable.GDP is the definitive measure of economic output and it produces surprisingly modest currency moves. Understanding why teaches something general about the calendar: markets pay…
Manufacturing PMIA survey of purchasing managers that leads the cycle — if you read the sub-indices.Manufacturing is a small and shrinking share of a modern developed economy, yet its purchasing managers’ survey is one of the most watched releases on the calendar. The reason is…
Services and Composite PMIThe bigger survey that gets less attention — and the one central banks now read first.Services are the large majority of a developed economy, and services inflation is the part central banks cannot wait out. Yet the services PMI is consistently treated as the…
ISM vs S&P Global PMITwo surveys of the same economy that regularly disagree, and how to use both.The United States is surveyed twice. The ISM and S&P Global PMIs cover the same economy in the same month and can point in opposite directions for a year at a time. This is…
Retail Sales MoMThe consumer’s monthly report card — and the one line inside it that desks actually trade.Consumption is around two-thirds of a developed economy, which makes retail sales the closest thing to a monthly reading of the whole growth story. It also contains a specific…
Industrial Production and Durable GoodsHard data on the cyclical part of the economy — second-tier for the dollar, first-tier for commodity currencies.Industrial production and durable goods orders are the hard-data counterparts to the manufacturing survey — actual output and actual orders rather than opinions about them. They…
Consumer Confidence and Sentiment SurveysSoft data with one genuinely hard component that central banks take seriously.Confidence surveys ask people how they feel, and how people feel is a famously poor predictor of what they do. There is one exception inside these releases that matters enormously…
Who this course is for
Growth and Activity Data is a intermediate course in the Fundamental Analysis track of the FX Terminal Academy. It assumes you already know what a currency pair is and how an order is placed. There are 7 lessons, about 1h 10m of reading in total.
Every lesson is free to read, and no account is needed to read one. Signing in only records which lessons you have finished, keeps your place across devices and issues the completion certificate at the end.
How to work through it
Read the lessons in the order they are listed: each one builds on the vocabulary and the ideas of the one before it. Each lesson ends with a short quiz that checks you took the point rather than the wording, and links straight into the FX Terminal screen that puts it to work — so the idea is tested against live market data instead of staying on the page.
You can stop between lessons and come back; nothing here expires, and the course quiz at the end covers the whole set rather than the last thing you read.
Common questions
Is Growth and Activity Data free?
Yes. Every lesson is free to read in full. There is no paywall, no trial and no card required, and the live FX Terminal screens each lesson links to are free as well.
Do I need any trading experience to start?
Some. It takes for granted that you know what a currency pair is, what a pip is and how an order reaches the market — the beginner courses in the Academy cover all three.
How long does the course take?
7 lessons, roughly 1h 10m of reading. It is self-paced — there is no schedule and no expiry, so stopping between lessons costs you nothing.
Do I need an account?
Not to read. An account is free and only exists to remember which lessons you have finished, carry that across devices, and issue the certificate when you complete the course.
Is there a quiz or a certificate?
Each lesson ends with a short quiz, and the course has its own assessment covering the whole set. Completing it while signed in issues a certificate you can share.
Will this course tell me what to trade?
No. The Academy teaches how the market works and how to read the data; it does not issue signals or recommendations. Nothing on FX Terminal is investment advice.