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[Info] [Info] Gold event calendar for EA traders: CPI, NFP, FOMC
The days gold EAs break are mostly predictable: US economic release days. Know the schedule and prepare, and you avoid half the accidents.
Events that move gold hard
| Event | When | Why it moves gold |
|---|---|---|
| FOMC (US rate decision) | 8 times a year, 18:00–19:00 GMT | Higher rates make non-yielding gold less attractive |
| Jobs report (NFP) | Usually first Friday of the month, 13:30 GMT | Growth and rate expectations reset in one go |
| Consumer prices (CPI) | Mid-month, 13:30 GMT | Hot inflation raises rate-hike expectations |
| Fed chair remarks | Any time | One sentence can move gold tens of dollars |
| Geopolitical news | Unannounced | Often a sharp safe-haven spike |
(GMT times shift one hour earlier during US daylight saving time.)
What happens at the release
- Price can move $10–$30+ within seconds.
- Spreads widen several times and stop orders fill much worse than expected (slippage).
- Big whipsaws in both directions before a trend often stop out breakout EAs on both sides.
What EA traders should do
- Every Monday, check the economic calendar for that week's high-impact (red) events.
- Add a news filter blocking new entries 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after.
- Make sure positions open before a release have a stop.
- On a prop challenge, check whether trading at news time is banned.
When judging copy traders
- Repeated big losses on release days mean no news handling.
- Traders who only make big wins on release days are often relying on luck too.
Read this with the "Gold session map" post in Guides and you'll know exactly when to be careful during the day.