My Wake-Up Call with NFP & Stop Placement
I'm fairly new to actively trading around news events, and a recent NFP release taught me a hard lesson about stop-loss placement. I had a decent long position on $EURUSD, anticipating a quick pop on what I thought would be a weaker-than-expected print. My stop was a bit tight, just below the recent swing low, thinking it was safe enough for the immediate move.
Well, the print came out, initial reaction was exactly what I wanted, but then a sharp, quick retrace spiked right through my stop before reversing back up and continuing in my original direction. It was frustrating to watch. I realized then that my stop placement wasn't just about technical levels, but also about accounting for the typical volatility and noise around high-impact economic releases. Now I'm looking at wider ranges or waiting for the dust to settle post-release before jumping in, especially with NFP.
NFP can be brutal for tight stops. Did you consider a wider stop or perhaps fading the initial move after the dust settled a bit?