How To Trade Non Narm Payroll (NFP) Report Forex

Should You Trade on the Non Farm Payroll Report?

The short answer is: "Not unless you know what you're doing."

The Non Farm Payroll Report produces one of the major forex trading movements that is triggered once a month when it is released on the first Friday of every month. The occurrence of this report is often seen by new traders in the forex markets as a juicy profit opportunity. But, is it really as easy a call as some would have you believe?

The Non Farm Payroll report measures the number of new jobs created in the previous month, excluding the farming industry. A rising trend has a positive effect on the nation’s currency. The number of new jobs being created is one of the most important indicators of the economy’s health because consumer spending, which is highly correlated with labor conditions, makes up a large portion of GDP.

The problem with attempting to trade on this report is that the hour when this announcement is made is one of the most volatile periods during the month; therefore it can be susceptible to big surprises in market movement.

When asking yourself the question: "How do I trade the Non Farm Payroll Report?" The answer you should be heeding (if you're new to forex trading) is: "You don't." Or to put it another way, "By maintaining a neutral position."

The market is far too volatile during this time to expect a high probability trade. There may be some gamblers who relish the thought of "placing a bet" to go long or short, expecting to make a small fortune for a few minutes work. But many serious traders know better and prefer to remain on the side of caution. The majority of them say the same thing: "Stay on the sidelines and wait for the market to calm down." This may take between 30 to 45 minutes in some cases, and even then the direction of the market may still be uncertain.

Of course, if you are an experienced trader using price and volume indicators you may have an easier time during these volatile trading periods. Your trading time may be all of about a half a minute or so. But trading within these windows of opportunity a small fortune can be made if you get in and get out at just the right moments. And, as mentioned before, if you truly understand what you are doing.

So how do the saavy traders manage during this magical time? The same way ALL trading should be done . . . plain and simple. You do what the market tells you to do via price and volume. There is no secret and no chart or no news report that can predict the future, especially when trading in these short time intervals.

No matter what you read or believe, the market will do what it wants.

The Non Farm Payroll announcement is just like any of the other volatile government announcements: you wait for the price to move. It either goes up really fast and pauses, retracing slightly, or it goes down really fast and pauses, then retraces. It has followed this pattern every single time this phenomenon has occurred. You simply watch the tape and when the opposite side of the move starts to be taken out in bug chunks you get ready to jump in. You can miss it by a tick or two and not suffer any ill effects from having done so.

On the other side of this question, there are many who believe that the Non Farm Payroll report can set the tone – creating a trend – for the rest of the month. If this is true, it means that a trader would not have to trade the report in the short term with all the accompanying risks. Instead, a trader could open up a longer term trade late on Friday, Sunday, or Monday – when the trading environment is calmer – and hold onto the trade for days or even weeks. These trades could have the potential for gains of 100 to 900 pips or more.

Whichever way you choose to go, be certain of the strategy you use and of your ability to accomplish the trade you intend to make. Forex trading on the short term is often not something that new traders should necessary expect to be able to successfully achieve. When contemplating a trade in a volatile market, just be careful and don't try something you're not one hundred percent certain of.