Where do you place a stop loss when a central bank decision is due?

A stop loss is a planned exit. Around a central bank decision, a stop placed too close can be triggered by normal noise, and one placed too far can cost more than planned. The right distance depends on the pair, the timeframe and the size of the position, and it has to be set together with the size, so that the amount at risk stays what you planned.

Leverage and margin explained shows why a stop distance and a position size have to be chosen together. On a decision day, prices can move well beyond their normal range in a few minutes, so a stop that looked reasonable on Monday may not be reasonable at the moment of the statement. How to trade the news covers the planning side, including what to do with an open trade when the decision lands.

The question here is how you place it before the event, and whether you change it once the decision is out:

• Do you set the stop before the decision, or wait to see the reaction?
• Do you widen a stop for a central bank day, or keep the normal distance?
• What is the last thing you check before you accept a stop level?
• Have you moved a stop during a news spike? What did you learn?

Please share your own approach and reasoning, not calls for others to copy. Posts that promise a direction or sell signals will be removed.