Trading the U.S. Non-Farm Payroll

Posted on 06. Feb, 2009 by Jakob in Uncategorized

It is the first Friday of the month and that means that the U.S Non-Farm Payroll numbers are coming out. This is usually one of the biggest events for forex traders, as this often causes the market to move radically. The number measures the change in number of employed people during the previous month, excluding the farming industry. At forexfactory they have a calendar describing the event, as well as the number which came out last time, the expected number coming out today, and the actual number when it is released. However, you cannot use forexfactory, for spike trading, as they simply are too slow. You will need some kind of news service, in order to get the numbers, the second they are coming out. Furthermore, forexfactory tends to be overloaded with visitors at days like these, making the page even slower.

Last time the number came out at -524K and today it is expected to come out at -530.

As I am using Oanda to trade, the spread will increase like crazy just around the news, probably like 30 seconds before and after the release. So I plan on waiting for the spreads to be lowered, and then follow the trend of the news. If there is a huge spike within a few seconds, I might wait a little longer in the hope of getting in on a small retracement. However, if there is just a small deviation from the expected number, I will try to get in ASAP. The NFP is one of the most volatile news release for the forex market, and you should be able to make some pips, despite the increase in spreads. Let me know how you guys did.

Related posts:

1. Reviewing the Non-Farm Payroll Webinar from TradingMetro
2. Non-Farm Payroll Recap
3. Non-Farm Payroll Webinar
4. Non-Farm Payroll – Live Trading
5. Non-Farm Payroll Tomorrow

Tags: U.S. Non-Farm Payroll