Why your stop gets hit right before the move

Why your stop loss gets hit right before the move 😮‍💨 (gold order flow, explained)

Real XAUUSD / gold futures session, Tue Oct 6, New York:

• Price dipped under the weekly VWAP. Sellers piled in, stops triggered, 100 contracts hit the bid at once
• A hidden buyer (iceberg order) absorbed it all at 4,171–4,175 (XAUUSD ≈4,144–4,148)
• The selling ran out. Gold rallied $25, back above the monthly VWAP

Obvious levels attract obvious stops. Where everyone's stop sits is exactly where big players can get filled. That's absorption, and you can see it on a footprint, DOM or heatmap (NinjaTrader, Bookmap, ATAS).

Follow @akorderflow for the order flow behind every gold move.

Host is AI-generated (Ava). Chart redrawn from AK FlowBook data. Education only, not financial advice.