FOMC week brings gold's biggest moves of the month, yet most retail traders trade the worst possible minutes. The Fed announces its rate decision at 2:00 pm Eastern on decision day, followed by the chair's press conference at 2:30 — when spreads explode, slippage peaks, and algos sweep stops on both sides. The best time to trade XAU/USD is not the decision itself; it is the windows around it.

The highest-quality window is the London-New York overlap, roughly 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm GMT, especially on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Tuesday's overlap is when institutions position ahead of the decision; Wednesday's post-presser afternoon is when the real directional move typically begins. Our guide to the best forex trading sessions explains why this overlap offers the deepest liquidity for volatile weeks.

Equally important are the windows to avoid. The Asian session during FOMC week is usually thin chop that stops out breakout traders; Monday mornings can gap on weekend headlines; and the thirty seconds around the 2:00 pm ET release are untradeable for most strategies — fills are terrible and the first spike frequently reverses. Knowing the dead zones matters as much as knowing the active ones.

Monday: observe only, map the range, and note where gold sits relative to key levels using your usual gold trading strategies. Tuesday: trade the overlap trend on a clean setup. Wednesday: stand aside into the decision, then trade the post-presser follow-through — not the headline spike. Thursday is the trend day, when the market commits; it can be the week's best day. Friday: reduce size and avoid new full-size positions.

FOMC week demands tighter risk mechanics, not looser ones. Halve your normal size on Wednesday and Thursday, keep stops ATR-based, and avoid holding an unprotected position through the 2:30 pm ET press conference. The full position sizing framework shows how to scale down systematically. Mark the announcement on your calendar, confirm spreads have normalized before entering, and never trade the release on a rumor.

Final note for the current cycle: the October 27-28, 2026 FOMC meeting has markets pricing roughly a coin flip between a hold and a hike after hot September CPI pushed hike odds sharply higher. The traders who win FOMC weeks don't bet on the outcome — they respect the dangerous minutes, wait for Thursday's trend, and size positions to survive a surprise.