Forex
Strategy:
How Do You Trade The Non-Farm Payroll Report?
In
the development of your forex strategy do you wonder how you can trade
the non-farm payroll report?
Seeing this
is one of the most, if not the most, volatile announcement during the
month (first Friday in every month) newer traders watch the huge movements
and wonder how to make money from all that volatility.
Seeing this
is one of the most, if not the most, volatile announcement during the
month (first Friday in every month) newer traders watch the huge movements
and wonder how to make money from all that volatility.
The answer
given below you may not fully appreciate until some explanation is
offered.
Question
"How
do I trade the non-farm payroll report?"
Answer
"You
DON'T!"
Or to put
it another way, "By maintaining a neutral position!"
The market
is far too volatile at this time to expect a high probability trade.
There may be some gamblers out there who relish the thought of ‘placing
a bet’ to go long or short. But serious traders know better.
Actually,
the professional traders I know all say the same thing: Stand aside
and wait for the market to calm down.”
This may
take between 30 to 45 minutes in some cases and even then the direction
of the market may be uncertain.
Some suggest
you can trade volatile market movers such as the non-farm payroll report
by waiting for the first leg of the move, up or down, then wait for
price to pull back 10 or 15 pips, then enter a trade to catch the second
leg of the move which often follows.
That’s one
possibility but still very high risk. Personally I prefer to base my
forex strategy on sound market assessment and carefully researched
trades.
Trading
The Aftermath
However,
while many professional traders sit out the non-farm payroll report,
that doesn’t mean they don’t trade afterwards.
After the
market has made a violent move in one direction you sometimes see price
stalling and then give a clear signal that it’s momentum is exhausted.
Look
For Combination Factors
This may
be in the form of a candle pattern such as a hammer with a very large
shadow which also happens to be on a key support or resistance level.
Now you
can enter a trade with a small level of risk as you place your stop
just above the high or low of the candle signal.
This advice
applies to all fundamental announcements which are considered ‘market
movers’. By developing a cautious forex strategy based on sound trading
principles, you will enjoy this business and get the satisfaction of
seeing your account equity steadily growing.
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