How to Connect FXMacroData to the OpenClaw AI Assistant

Imagine asking your AI assistant — from WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord — "What did the RBA do with rates this month?" and getting an instant, accurate answer sourced directly from official central bank releases. That is what this guide builds. By the end, your OpenClaw agent will have live access to macroeconomic announcement data across 18 currencies, release calendars, COT positioning, commodities, and forex rates — all through a single connection.

Path A — Connect via MCP Recommended

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is the fastest way to give OpenClaw typed access to FXMacroData. One config block and you are done — no skill JSON, no endpoint boilerplate, no manual schema definitions. OpenClaw auto-discovers every tool the server exposes and makes them available as native agent tools.

Step 1 — Add the MCP server to your OpenClaw config

Open your OpenClaw configuration file (~/.openclaw/openclaw.json or the settings UI) and add the FXMacroData MCP server. There are two options depending on whether you want the hosted server or the local Python package:

Option A: Hosted MCP endpoint (simplest — zero install)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fxmacrodata": {
      "url": "https://fxmacrodata.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This connects directly to the production FXMacroData MCP server over Streamable HTTP. USD data works immediately with no API key. For non-USD currencies, append your API key to the URL:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fxmacrodata": {
      "url": "https://fxmacrodata.com/mcp?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY"
    }
  }
}

Option B: Local MCP server via uvx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fxmacrodata": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-fxmacrodata"],
      "env": {
        "FXMACRODATA_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

This starts a local MCP server process from the mcp-server-fxmacrodata PyPI package using stdio transport. Use this for MCP clients that don't support remote HTTP connections (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.).

Step 2 — Explore the available tools

Once connected, OpenClaw automatically registers all tools the MCP server exposes. Here is what you get access to:

Your agent resolves which tool to call from natural language. You never need to memorize tool names or parameters — just ask questions.

Step 3 — Test the connection

Open any OpenClaw chat channel (Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, or the web interface) and ask a question. Start simple:

What is the current AUD policy rate?

Under the hood, OpenClaw issues an MCP tool call:

{
  "tool": "indicator_query",
  "arguments": {
    "currency": "aud",
    "indicator": "policy_rate"
  }
}

The server returns the full announcement series and your agent summarizes the latest value, announcement date, and direction of change in plain language. Try a few more to confirm the full surface works:

Show me the latest EUR CPI reading.
What macro releases are scheduled this week for USD?
What is the COT positioning for GBP futures?
Which FX sessions are open right now?
What is the current gold price?

Each of these maps to a different MCP tool, and OpenClaw routes them automatically. Check the endpoint reference pages for more indicator slugs — USD inflation, AUD policy rate, EUR GDP, and dozens more under the API docs hub.

Path B — Connect via REST API skill Alternative

If your OpenClaw build does not support MCP, or if you prefer explicit control over exactly which HTTP routes the agent can call, you can wire FXMacroData as a custom HTTP skill instead. This approach works with every OpenClaw version.

Step 1 — Store your API key

openclaw credentials set FXMACRODATA_API_KEY "YOUR_API_KEY"

Step 2 — Verify the API response

The production announcements endpoint lives at /api/v1/announcements/{currency}/{indicator}. Test it with a quick curl:

curl "https://fxmacrodata.com/api/v1/announcements/usd/inflation"

You will get back a JSON object with metadata and a data array:

{
  "currency": "USD",
  "indicator": "inflation",
  "has_official_forecast": false,
  "start_date": "2025-01-31",
  "end_date": "2026-03-27",
  "data": [
    {
      "date": "2026-03-12",
      "val": 2.83,
      "announcement_datetime": 1770989400
    }
  ]
}

The most recent entry in data is the latest available reading. USD endpoints are accessible without a key, making them convenient for initial testing.

Step 3 — Create the skill definition

Save this as ~/.openclaw/skills/fxmacrodata.json. The {{FXMACRODATA_API_KEY}} placeholder is resolved at runtime from the credentials you stored above.

{
  "skill_id": "fxmacrodata",
  "name": "FXMacroData",
  "description": "Fetch macroeconomic announcement series from FXMacroData and summarize the latest released value for an indicator and currency.",
  "base_url": "https://fxmacrodata.com/api/v1",
  "auth": {
    "type": "query_param",
    "param": "api_key",
    "credential": "FXMACRODATA_API_KEY"
  },
  "endpoints": [
    {
      "id": "fetch_announcements",
      "method": "GET",
      "path": "/announcements/{currency}/{indicator}",
      "description": "Return the historical announcement series for one currency and indicator.",
      "parameters": {
        "currency": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "ISO currency code — e.g. aud, eur, gbp, usd, nzd, cad, chf, jpy, hkd, sgd, nok, sek, dkk, pln, brl, cny, krw, mxn",
          "required": true
        },
        "indicator": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "Indicator slug — e.g. policy_rate, inflation, gdp, unemployment, non_farm_payrolls, retail_sales, trade_balance",
          "required": true
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Reload skills after saving:

openclaw skills reload

Step 4 — Test it

Ask a natural-language question in any connected chat channel:

What is the latest AUD policy rate?

OpenClaw maps this to the fetch_announcements endpoint with currency=aud and indicator=policy_rate, calls the AUD policy rate endpoint, and returns a plain-English summary.

Real-world scenarios

Once the connection is live, here are the kinds of workflows that become natural:

Summarize any macro releases from the last 24 hours for USD, EUR, GBP, and JPY. Flag anything that moved more than expected.

What is the current policy rate for Australia vs New Zealand? What is the rate differential?

Is there any high-impact USD data coming out this week? I am thinking about going long EUR/USD.

What does the latest COT report say about EUR positioning? Are specs net long or short?

Automate a weekday macro briefing

The real power of connecting a data API to an always-on agent is automation. Set up a scheduled OpenClaw workflow that delivers a morning macro briefing before you start trading.

Create a workflow file at ~/.openclaw/workflows/fx_morning_briefing.json:

{
  "workflow_id": "fx_morning_briefing",
  "schedule": "0 7 * * 1-5",
  "description": "Weekday morning FX macro briefing at 07:00 UTC — covers key indicators and upcoming calendar events.",
  "steps": [
    {
      "skill": "fxmacrodata",
      "endpoint": "fetch_announcements",
      "params": { "currency": "usd", "indicator": "policy_rate" },
      "label": "Fed Funds Rate"
    },
    {
      "skill": "fxmacrodata",
      "endpoint": "fetch_announcements",
      "params": { "currency": "eur", "indicator": "inflation" },
      "label": "EUR Inflation"
    },
    {
      "skill": "fxmacrodata",
      "endpoint": "fetch_announcements",
      "params": { "currency": "gbp", "indicator": "unemployment" },
      "label": "GBP Unemployment"
    },
    {
      "skill": "fxmacrodata",
      "endpoint": "fetch_announcements",
      "params": { "currency": "aud", "indicator": "policy_rate" },
      "label": "RBA Policy Rate"
    }
  ],
  "output_channel": "your-channel-id"
}

Adjust the schedule cron expression to your timezone and trading session. A London-session trader might set 0 6 * * 1-5 (06:00 UTC, just before the London open). A New York trader might prefer 0 12 * * 1-5 (12:00 UTC / 08:00 ET).

Reload workflows after saving:

openclaw workflows reload

Each weekday morning, OpenClaw fetches the latest values, compiles them into a consolidated briefing with current readings and recent changes, and pushes the summary to your configured channel. If you use the MCP path, the agent can also pull the release calendar to flag any data events scheduled for the day ahead.

Next steps

• Expand your indicator coverage — explore the full catalogue with data_catalogue or browse the API documentation. Endpoints cover policy rates, inflation, GDP, unemployment, trade balance, retail sales, 10-year bond yields, and more across all 18 supported currencies.
• Combine with a trading skill — wire OpenClaw to your broker's API alongside FXMacroData so the agent can surface a macro reading and a live price in the same response. "What is the latest AUD CPI and where is AUD/USD trading?" becomes a single query.
• Build conditional alerts — trigger a notification only when a policy rate changes, when CPI crosses a threshold, or when COT positioning flips from net long to net short.
• Use the release calendar proactively — have your agent warn you before high-impact events so you can manage risk exposure ahead of prints.

— The FXMacroData Team