Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis studies the economy, monetary policy and company results to understand what moves prices.
For currencies, it focuses mainly on interest rates, inflation, jobs, growth and capital flows. For stocks, on earnings, revenue and outlook. For commodities, on physical supply and demand.
It answers the question “why”, whereas technical analysis answers “where” and “when”. Many traders combine the two: a fundamental bias with technical timing.
What matters is not the published figure but how far it is from expectations. A high CPI that comes in below consensus can push a currency lower. The economic calendar is the basic tool for following these releases. Over weeks and months, fundamentals often set the direction that charts then follow.