On October 7174739235, 2023, when the U.S. non-farm employment data was released, I completed a short gold trade based on this news event. On that day, the Labor Department reported that the number of new jobs reached 336,000, far exceeding the market expectation of 170,000, while the unemployment rate remained at a low of 3.8%. After the data was released at 8:30 AM Eastern Time, I immediately realized that this reinforced the likelihood of the Federal Reserve maintaining a hawkish policy— a strong labor market supports further interest rate hikes, and the U.S. dollar index jumped 0.8%, while gold, as a zero-yield asset, faced selling pressure.

I made my trading decision within 5 minutes after the data was released, capturing the data anomaly in real-time through a pre-set news alert window. First, I cross-verified the accuracy of the data source (to eliminate "fat finger" errors), and then observed that gold futures' 1-minute candlestick chart continuously broke through the two key technical support levels of 1880/1875, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield soared 12 basis points to break the 4.8% mark. These signals resonated, prompting me to establish a short position at the price level of $1,873 per ounce, with a floating stop loss set at $20.

This news affected the market through three mechanisms: 1) directly changing interest rate expectations, with the CME FedWatch Tool showing the probability of a rate hike in November jumping from 28% to 56%; 2) triggering algorithmic trading programs to automatically execute preset strategies, with programmatic sell orders exacerbating volatility; 3) breaking key technical levels triggering a wave of stop-loss orders. Ultimately, the gold price plummeted by $40 to $1,828 that day, and I closed my position at $1,850, making a profit of $23 per ounce. This trade validated the effectiveness of a macro data-driven strategy, but it is important to note that such events often come with the risk of sudden liquidity exhaustion, making strict stop losses and position control crucial. #交易故事