“G” meetings: Do they move the market?

Of the many economic numbers and market events forex traders tend to monitor, the annual Group of Seven/Group of Eight (G7/G8) meetings, which are summits of many of the world’s most economically influential nations, tend to get less attention than more frequent events such as the monthly employment report.

The G8 meeting this month has attracted little attention outside the narrow range of economic policy wonks and currency desk traders, but there is evidence these gatherings can be tied to certain behavior patterns in the U.S. dollar.

Is the G7 — or G8, depending on who’s involved — a major event to the currency market? And how can currency traders take advantage of meeting days, regardless of the meeting’s outcome?