Strategy, updated 8 October 2026
Trading gold around the news
Three ways to handle high-impact news on gold: stay out, trade the reaction after the dust settles, or position beforehand, and the risks of each.
Gold’s biggest daily moves come from scheduled US news. There are three ways to deal with it.
1. Stay out
Close or protect trades before the release, and don’t open new ones until spreads normalise. It’s the default for most traders, and there’s no shame in it.
2. Trade the reaction
Wait 15 to 30 minutes after the release. The first spike often reverses. Once a direction holds, trade it with a normal stop beyond the post-news range. You give up the first move, but you trade with tighter spreads and better information.
3. Position beforehand
Take a view on the number and enter before the release. This is a bet on a coin flip with widened spreads and slippage, and it’s rarely worth it for retail traders. If you do it, use small size.
What to watch
| Release | When (New York time) | Gold usually falls if… |
|---|---|---|
| CPI | 8:30am, mid-month | Inflation beats the forecast |
| NFP | 8:30am, first Friday | Jobs beat the forecast |
| FOMC | 2:00pm, 8 times a year | The Fed sounds more hawkish |
| PCE inflation | 8:30am, end of month | Inflation beats the forecast |
| GDP | 8:30am, quarterly | Growth beats the forecast |
The economic calendar lists each week’s events in your time zone.