News trading rules at prop firms

High-impact news can move a market more in one minute than in a full session. Prop firms know this. Many restrict trading around major releases, especially on funded accounts. This guide explains how news rules work and how the firms we track handle them.

Why firms restrict news trading

Around releases like Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), CPI or FOMC decisions, spreads widen and prices can gap. Orders may fill far from the requested price. A firm paying out on simulated results does not want payouts built on fills that would be hard to get in live markets.

So firms use one of three approaches:

• Allowed: trade news as normal, within other rules.
• Window restriction: no orders, or no open positions, for a set number of minutes around listed events.
• Strategy restriction: news trading is allowed, but certain tactics are banned.

Evaluation vs funded: the key difference

Many firms allow news trading during the evaluation but restrict it once you are funded. This catches traders out. A strategy that passed the challenge may break the rules on day one of the funded account.

Before you buy, check the news rule for both stages.

How the firms we track handle news

The details below come from official pages and our database, checked 3 November 2026.

FTMO

FTMO allows news trading during the Challenge and Verification. On funded Standard accounts, its news FAQ restricts order execution for 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after selected releases. Key points:

• The ban covers any order execution, including stop losses and take profits.
• Positions opened more than 2 minutes before the event can stay open.
• Only instruments tied to the affected currency or asset are restricted. During US NFP, FTMO's example says EURGBP is fine but GBPUSD is not.
• Restricted events are marked in FTMO's economic calendar.
• FTMO says a breach may lead to termination of the account.

FTMO's Swing account has no news restriction. It is only available with the 2-Step Challenge and has lower base leverage: 1:30 instead of 1:100.

The5ers

The5ers High Stakes does not allow new orders from 2 minutes before to 2 minutes after high-impact news. Holding a position through news is allowed. Its Bootcamp program allows news trading but bans bracket strategies around news.

FundedNext and Tradeify

Our database lists news trading as allowed on FundedNext Stellar challenges and on Tradeify programs. Funded agreements can still contain general rules on abusive strategies, so read them.

Topstep

Topstep allows news trading. Its rules target specific behaviour, such as deliberately placing your full maximum position size into a news event. Check the exact wording in Topstep's help center.

Take Profit Trader

Take Profit Trader allows news trading in the Test. On PRO and PRO+ funded accounts, traders must be flat 1 minute before and after major releases such as FOMC and NFP.

My Funded Futures

My Funded Futures allows trading Tier 1 news in the evaluation and restricts it on funded accounts around those events. Confirm the exact window on its help pages.

Which events usually count

Lists differ by firm, but the usual high-impact events include:

• US Non-Farm Payrolls and the unemployment rate.
• US CPI inflation.
• FOMC rate decisions and press conferences.
• Other central bank decisions, such as the ECB, BoE and BoJ.
• Crude oil inventories, for oil traders.

Some firms publish their own calendar. Use that one, not a generic calendar, because the firm's list is what it enforces.

How a window rule works in practice

An illustrative example with a 2-minute window:

• NFP is released at 8:30 AM New York time.
• The restricted window runs from 8:28 to 8:32.
• You opened EURUSD at 8:15. You can hold it through the release.
• Your take profit triggers at 8:31. Under an "any order execution" rule, that counts as a breach.

The last point is the trap. Stops and targets close to price can fire inside the window without you touching anything. If you hold through news on a restricted account, move stops and targets far enough away, or close beforehand.

Common news-trading mistakes

• Checking a generic calendar instead of the firm's own list.
• Forgetting that a pending limit or stop order can fill inside the window.
• Assuming evaluation rules carry over to the funded account.
• Assuming only forex pairs count. FTMO's list includes gold, US indices and DXY for US announcements.
• Holding through news with a stop so tight that slippage turns a small planned loss into a daily-limit breach.

Building a news routine

1. Check the firm's calendar every Sunday and every morning.
2. Write down the restricted events and windows for your instruments.
3. Set an alarm 10 minutes before each event.
4. Decide in advance: go flat, hold with distant orders or trade only unrelated pairs.
5. Log any near-misses and adjust.

If you want to trade news

Some traders build their edge around releases. If that is you:

• Pick a firm and account type that allow it on funded accounts, such as FTMO's 2-Step Swing account.
• Accept the trade-offs, like lower leverage.
• Size smaller. Slippage around news can exceed your planned stop. Our position size calculator helps you plan for that.
• Remember that daily loss limits still apply. See our daily loss limit guide.

Key takeaways

• News rules often differ between evaluation and funded stages.
• Window rules may count stops and take profits as executions.
• Restrictions usually apply only to instruments linked to the event.
• Use the firm's own calendar.

See every challenge's rules on our rules hub.

News rules change and vary by account type. Confirm current terms on each firm's official site before you trade. This guide is educational and not financial advice. Trading involves risk.