The short answer
Probably not, but you can check. Most stops that feel hunted were hit by one of four ordinary causes: the ask price on a short trade (charts show the bid), a spread that widened at rollover or news, slippage in a fast market, or a real market sweep through a level where many traders’ stops were sitting. A genuine pricing error by a provider is possible, and you have the right to question it, but it should show up as a clear mismatch in the evidence.
The five checks below take about fifteen minutes per trade. If your stop-out passes all five as “explained”, it was the market or the mechanics. If it fails them, you have something concrete to put to your provider.
Why stops get hit near the extreme
Gold attracts a lot of short-term traders, and many of them put their stops in the same places: a few cents beyond the previous high or low, beyond round numbers such as $4,000, or beyond the Asian session range. Those clusters are pools of resting orders. Price often runs through them and then turns, because the orders triggered there provide the other side for larger trades. We teach this as the liquidity sweep, and it happens on every feed at the same moment.
On top of that come the mechanics:
- Shorts are stopped on the ask. If your chart shows the bid, a short stop can trigger while the candle stays below it. See stop-loss hit but price didn’t touch it.
- Spreads widen in thin hours and around releases. See why the gold spread widens on news and at rollover.
- Stops become market orders and fill at the next price, which can be worse. See gold slippage explained.
How dealing models work (generic)
Retail CFD providers broadly use two models, often both:
| Model | What it means | Possible conflict |
|---|---|---|
| Market maker (“B-book”) | The provider takes the other side of your trade, at least partly | It gains when clients lose, so it must manage that conflict under its rules |
| Agency / STP (“A-book”) | Orders are passed to outside liquidity providers | Fewer direct conflicts; costs come through spread or commission |
Regulated firms have to disclose their execution approach in an order execution policy and treat clients fairly. Taking the other side is not proof of manipulation; it is a reason to keep good records. We never name or rank providers.
The five-check evidence test
Take one stopped-out trade and work through these in order. Stop at the first “explained”.
- Which price triggered it? Long stops trigger on the bid, short stops on the ask. Turn on the ask line (right-click the chart → Properties (F8) → Show Ask line in MT4, Show Ask price line in MT5) and go to the 1-minute chart at the close time. If the ask reached a short’s stop, it is explained.
- What time was it? Within an hour of the 5 pm New York daily break, at the Sunday open, or within minutes of a scheduled release? Check the gold economic calendar and the market hours tool. A wide spread at those times is explained.
- How far did it fill from the stop? A fill a little beyond your level in a fast market is slippage, explained. Note the distance in dollars.
- Did other feeds show the move? Look at the same minute on an independent chart (for example TVC:GOLD on TradingView) or a second provider’s demo. If the high or low is there too, give or take normal feed differences, it was the market, explained. Remember feeds differ slightly; see why gold prices differ between brokers and TradingView.
- Does your provider’s own history show it? Ask for the tick data for that minute. If the provider’s own bid/ask never reached your stop, or the fill price never traded on its feed, that is not explained.
A worked example (illustrative)
You are long 0.30 lot at $4,012.40 with a stop at $4,004.90, just under the morning low of $4,005.00. At 10:02 am New York the bid drops to $4,004.70, your stop fills at $4,004.80 and price rallies $15 within the hour.
| Check | Finding | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Price | Long stop, triggered on the bid; bid reached $4,004.70 | Explained |
| 2. Time | 10:02 am NY, a few minutes after a 10:00 am data release | Supports it |
| 3. Fill | $4,004.80: $0.10 worse than the stop, inside the traded range | Normal slippage |
| 4. Other feeds | Independent chart low $4,004.50 in the same minute | Market-wide |
The stop was hit by a real dip through an obvious low. Loss: ($4,012.40 − $4,004.80) × 30 oz = $228. The lesson is stop placement, not the broker: a stop $0.10 below a visible low on a release morning is a target for every sweep. An ATR-based stop with a smaller lot would have risked the same $228 with room to breathe.
If the evidence does not add up
- Collect the trade ticket (open/close time to the second, prices), screenshots of the 1-minute chart with bid and ask, and the independent chart.
- Write to the provider, quote the ticket number, and ask for a price review and the tick history for that minute.
- Keep it factual. “Your feed shows a low of X; my stop at Y filled at Z” is stronger than “you hunted me”.
- Use the complaint route if you are not satisfied with the answer. For regulated firms, the regulator’s site names the ombudsman or dispute scheme; first check the licence with how to check a broker’s licence.
- If it keeps happening, test another provider’s execution on a demo or small account and compare using a log of your fills.
How to stop feeling hunted
- Place stops beyond the obvious level plus the spread you could face, not a few cents past it.
- Size from the stop, so a wider stop does not mean more risk: the position size calculator does it in seconds.
- Avoid holding tight stops through the daily break and scheduled releases.
- Log every stop-out with time and cause. Patterns (all shorts, all near 5 pm) point to the real fix.
More answers are in gold trading problems solved.
Sources
- MetaQuotes: Requirements and limitations in making trades (which price opens and closes buys and sells)
- XAUUSD Global: liquidity sweep lesson and stop hunt glossary entry
- Prices and lot sizes in the worked example are hypothetical
Educational content only, not financial or legal advice. We never name or recommend brokers. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.
Frequently asked questions
Do brokers hunt stop losses?
A regulated provider that deliberately moved its prices to trigger client stops would be breaking conduct rules, and it is the rare case. Most stop-outs that feel like hunting are explained by the ask price on short trades, spreads that widen at rollover or news, slippage in fast markets, or a real market move through an obvious level where many stops sat. Test your own trades before concluding.
How can I prove my broker hunted my stop?
Compare the fill with the provider’s own tick history and with an independent price source at the same second. If the provider’s bid or ask never reached your stop, no news or rollover explains it, and other sources show nothing similar, you have evidence of a pricing error. Ask in writing for the tick data and a review, then use the formal complaint route if needed.
What is the difference between a market maker and an STP broker?
A market maker (often called B-book) takes the other side of client trades itself, at least for some clients. An STP or agency model (A-book) passes orders to outside liquidity providers. Many firms use a mix. Taking the other side is a disclosed, regulated business model in many countries; it does not by itself mean prices are manipulated.
Why does gold so often reverse right after hitting my stop?
Because stops cluster at obvious places: just beyond recent highs and lows, round numbers and the Asian range. Larger traders need those resting orders to fill their own positions, so price often reaches through such levels and then turns. That is a market-wide liquidity sweep, visible on every feed, not a move aimed at one account.
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