Why did my gold stop loss fill so far from my level?

During tier-one releases liquidity thins to near-nothing for up to a minute, so stops fill at the next available price rather than the requested one. A planned 1% risk can become 2% or more without any change in position size.

Can I predict gold direction from the CPI number?

No, reliably. The reaction depends on positioning as much as the print — if the market already positioned for a hot number, the release can resolve uncertainty and send gold the "wrong" way. Post-release structure is more informative than the number itself.

How long should I wait after news to trade gold?

At least five minutes for the whipsaw to resolve and until spreads return to normal, with most tradable entries appearing fifteen to ninety minutes after the release.

Why News Trading Gold Fails: Slippage and Spikes

Gold news trades fail mechanically rather than analytically: slippage during tier-one releases turns a planned 1% risk into 2% or more, and a $2.50 spread against a 0 stop pays a quarter of the risk on entry.

XAU routinely whipsaws in both directions within the first two minutes of a major print, so entries in that window are stopped out regardless of directional view.

Reaction depends on positioning as much as the number — a hot CPI can send gold higher if the market was already positioned for it — which is why post-release structure is more informative than the print.