The macro side of forex, explained
What we write down for ourselves while building MacroSetup: how currencies move, how to read a release against expectations, and where the usual tools stop. No promises, no signals, no jargon for its own sake.
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What actually moves a currency
Interest rates, the data a central bank watches, risk appetite and geopolitics: what moves the eight major currencies, and how to tell a surprise from something the market already knew.
24 October 20267 minute read
The four things behind almost every move, and why a rate rise everyone expected changes so little.
Read the piece
- forex fundamentals
- interest rates
- risk sentiment
Currency strength meters: what they show and what they miss
How the number is built, what it leaves out, and how to use it without being led by it.
- currency strength meter
- forex indicators
- momentum
24 October 20266 minute read
How to read an economic release against expectations
Why the forecast matters more than the figure, and what to check before you believe the first move.
- economic calendar
- consensus forecast
- inflation data
24 October 20267 minute read
What a central bank actually steers by
The target, the worry and the tone: how to read a rate decision without waiting for the headline.
- central banks
- interest rate decision
- monetary policy
24 October 20268 minute read
Trading around the news when your prop firm has rules
Why the calendar matters more on a funded account, and how to plan a week around it.
- prop firm rules
- funded account
- news trading
24 October 20267 minute read
Hawkish vs dovish: meaning, and why the currency moves
Why a rate cut can lift a currency, and what to listen for in a statement instead of the decision.
- hawkish vs dovish
- hawkish
- dovish
24 October 20267 minute read
Risk on and risk off, and which currencies move when
The one force that moves all eight majors at once, how to see it early, and the weeks it lies to you.
- risk on risk off
- safe haven
- market sentiment
24 October 20266 minute read
Carry: what the rate gap pays you, and what it costs
Why the funding currency sits at the bottom of every ranking, until the week it does not.
- carry trade
- interest rate differential
- swap
24 October 20266 minute read
A Fed day, from the statement to the press conference
The four parts of a decision, why the first move often reverses, and what to watch instead of the rate.
- FOMC
- Fed decision
- dot plot
24 October 20267 minute read
Macro for the side, the chart for the moment
The division of labour that lets a fundamental bias and a chart work together instead of arguing.
- fundamental bias
- technical analysis
- confluence
24 October 20267 minute read
More to follow. Everything here is checked and kept up to date by Mike, who runs MacroSetup and trades the model himself. Where a piece leans on a rule or a target, it names the source. How we write and correct is on the methodology page.