Macro Reading for Traders

About this track

CPI, the Fed, the yield curve and the dollar — how the pieces connect.

An introduction to CPI releases, central-bank decisions, Treasury yields and the dollar index, with exercises for separating observed data from uncertain market interpretations.

What you will be able to do

• Read a CPI release and identify which component drove the surprise, rather than reacting to the headline number.
• Explain how FOMC decisions are announced and why published expectations and other information may influence different market reactions.
• Interpret the shape of the yield curve and describe what a flattening or inversion has historically signalled.
• Connect dollar strength to the behaviour of commodities, emerging markets and large exporters.
• Combine several macro signals into one written view instead of trading each release in isolation.

Before you start

No economics background is assumed. You should know what an interest rate is and be willing to read a data release rather than a summary of it. Each lesson links to the primary source — the statistical agency or the central bank itself — so you can check every figure yourself.

How the lessons build

Start by reading CPI definitions and component changes. The Fed lesson then distinguishes policy announcements from expectations; inflation is one input among several. The yield-curve lesson compares maturities and model limitations. The dollar lesson considers currency translation and exposures without assuming a fixed price response. The final exercise compares several observations and alternative explanations.

Who this track is not for

This is not a macroeconomic forecasting course and it will not tell you where rates or inflation are going. It does not cover trading around releases with leverage, which is a specialist activity with execution risks that reading cannot prepare you for. If you want a directional call on the economy, no honest course can give you one.

Lessons in this track

• Reading CPI and Inflation Data (8 min) — CPI measures selected consumer-price changes. Read the release, its definitions and components without assuming a predictable market response.
• The Fed & FOMC Cycle — How Rates Get Set (9 min) — The FOMC has eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, and its decisions can affect market expectations.
• The Yield Curve and Recession-Risk Research (8 min) — Yield-curve inversion has historically been associated with elevated US recession risk, but timing varies and the signal is not a standalone forecast.
• The Dollar Index (DXY) — Reading Currency Context (7 min) — DXY tracks the dollar against six currencies and offers context for studying currency exposure, with important limits.
• Putting It Together — A Macro Dashboard for Traders (8 min) — Compare growth, inflation and financial indicators in a documented worksheet, without treating a regime label as a trading instruction.

Completion badge

Macro Reading Completion: Awarded after completing every lesson in the Macro Reading for Traders track. Educational simulation only — not financial advice.