Forecast versus previous: ways the calendar gets misread

[Shadow Trader]

The calendar looks simple, three columns and a color. The mistakes tend to be quiet ones:

- Comparing actual to previous instead of to forecast. The forecast is what was priced in, so the surprise is the gap to that.
- Treating the forecast as fixed. Consensus differs by source and can drift in the hours before the release.
- Ignoring that the previous number may already be revised. What the calendar shows may be the old or new figure depending on the site.
- Mixing up inverted indicators. Higher jobless claims or unemployment is usually bad for a currency, so a number that is above forecast reads the opposite way.
- Confusing month-on-month with year-on-year. Both often print at once and can point in opposite directions.
- Overlooking the whisper number. Sometimes the market is positioned against the published forecast.

A surprise is also relative to the story of the week. A small miss in a data point everyone is watching can matter more than a big miss in one nobody cares about.

Which of these has caught you out, or is there another misreading that belongs on this list?