A news trading restriction is an evaluation rule designed to prohibit or limit trading during scheduled high-impact macroeconomic announcements — typically events like NFP, FOMC rate decisions, CPI, and GDP releases — on the basis that the resulting price behaviour is not representative of normal trading conditions.
Where this rule applies, trades must be closed a defined number of minutes before the news release and may not be opened again until a defined number of minutes after. The specific events covered, the time window, and the enforcement mechanism all vary by program and must be read in the rules before trading.
Why programs impose news restrictions
The stated rationale is risk concentration: a single news event can move price by multiples of a normal day range in seconds, making risk limits effectively unenforceable during the window. A stop-loss that works in normal conditions can fill well beyond its level due to slippage, meaning a position sized to respect the daily loss limit can breach it on a single news candle regardless of the stop placement.
Programs without a news restriction rely on the hard limits themselves — a breach is a breach regardless of cause. Programs with a restriction add a procedural layer: they prevent the situation from arising rather than enforcing it after the fact.
Practical enforcement
Enforcement is typically automated via the trading platform or a monitoring layer. Positions open at the prohibited time are either automatically closed by the platform, flagged for review, or treated as a rule violation resulting in evaluation termination, depending on how the program defines the breach.
Traders using strategies that regularly hold through news events — carry trades, position trades, or event-driven approaches — need to verify whether a news restriction applies before purchasing an evaluation. A strategy that is profitable overall but routinely holds through restricted windows is structurally incompatible with that program.
What to check in program rules
- The specific events covered — not all programs restrict all news types.
- The time window — some programs restrict 2 minutes either side; others restrict 15 minutes or more.
- Whether the restriction applies to opening, holding, or both.
- The consequence of a violation — warning, account review, or immediate termination.
FundedProp’s position on news trading publishes in the rulebook before any evaluation opens for purchase. For related evaluation rule mechanics, see daily loss limit, slippage, and breach.
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