Forex NFP

What is NFP? What is Non-Farm Payroll?

NFP is one of the most important abbreviations forex brokers and traders use and it is a must for anybody who is trying to learn forex. It is short for Non-Farm Payroll, officially called Non-Farm Employment Change – the change in the number of employed people during the previous month, excluding the farming industry. This important piece of economic data is put out by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics at 08:30am New York time on the first Friday of the month. As you see the release is shortly after the month ends.

Job creation is a vital leading indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for a majority of overall economic activity. Oanda has a useful calendar where you can follow all economic data relevant to the forex market. Alternatively, you can read the analyses put out by Saxo Bank analysts.

The combination of utmost importance and earliness makes rattles the forex markets. It is not uncommon to witness moves in the forex pairs of between 50 and more than 200 pips in a matter of just minutes!