Non-farm payrolls. One of America’s most important economic announcements. And potentially a major source of trading opportunities.
Normally released on the first Friday of every month, eight thirty in the morning, New York time.
It reveals how many people are currently working in US manufacturing, construction and goods industries, eighty percent of the country’s total workforce.
Not included: farm workers, government employees, private household staff and anyone working for a non-profit organisation.
In a word: volatility.
Jobs figures say a lot about the economy´s health, particularly if the number is much higher or lower than expected.
This can have a big and sudden impact on financial markets, which means opportunities to trade, but of course volatility also amplifies risk.
But which markets can you trade? The main one: Forex.
Major currency pairs often move as traders buy or sell the dollar based on how well the US is doing. Similarly investors will buy and sell shares based on expected future growth, so major stock indices also tend to move quickly.
Then, there’s gold and bonds, so called safe havens. Depending on the jobs number, and how confident investors are about the economy, these could see lots of movements.
Indeed the non-farms can send ripples across every global market. So do your research and keep an eye out for opportunities, but proceed with caution. While volatility creates opportunities to profit, it could just as easily lead to losses.
So when trading non farms, always consider using stop-losses to manage your risk and you may even want to wait for markets to calm down a little before you take a position.
In order for you to understand better how to trade non-farm payrolls check the video, I think it is a really good and interesting way of trading the non-farm payrolls.
