News Trading Rule Explained: The 5-Minute Window

The news trading rule restricts orders executed within 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after macroeconomic data releases, central bank announcements, geopolitical events and similar events. A position opened before the window and closed after it is not a violation. Plan your day so that you are not placing orders inside those ten minutes; the accounts are simulated (demo) accounts, but the rule applies to them in full.

What the rule says

The terms describe the rule in four parts.

• Which events. Macroeconomic data releases, central bank announcements, geopolitical events and other similar events that may cause unusual market conditions.
• The window. From 5 minutes before the event to 5 minutes after it.
• What is restricted. Orders executed within that window.
• What is not a violation. A position opened before the window and closed after it.

News trading is also prohibited in the website terms, so treat the restriction as part of the program rules on every account.

The window in practice

Say a release is scheduled for 13:30. The window runs from 13:25 to 13:35.

• An order executed at 13:27 falls inside the window. It is restricted.
• An order executed at 13:40 falls outside it.
• A position opened at 13:10 and closed at 13:50 was opened before the window and closed after it. The terms say that is not a violation.

Check that your calendar and your platform use the same time zone before you trust a window. A one-hour mix-up is easy and expensive.

Cases the terms do not spell out

The terms say that orders executed within the window are restricted, and that a position opened before the window and closed after it is not a violation. They do not describe every situation. For example, they do not walk through what happens when you close or adjust a position inside the window, or when a stop or a pending order is triggered inside it.

Until you have an answer from support, take the careful route.

• Treat anything that executes inside the window as restricted.
• Remove pending orders before a window opens.
• If you are unsure, ask support before the event, not after.

What counts as news

The terms describe categories of events, not a fixed list. Typical examples inside those categories are a jobs report, an inflation reading or an interest-rate decision. Geopolitical events and other similar events are covered too.

The terms describe categories and do not give a fixed list, so do not assume a smaller event is exempt. If you are not sure whether something counts, treat it as if it does, or ask support first.

Why the window matters

Around major releases, prices can jump, spreads can widen and orders can fill away from the price you expected. These are the unusual market conditions the terms refer to. A rule built around a short window is a way of keeping orders away from the most unstable minutes.

How to plan around it

1. Check a calendar every morning. Note the events that matter for the markets you follow, with their times.
2. Write the window next to each event. Event time minus 5 minutes, and event time plus 5 minutes.
3. Match the time zone. Your calendar, your platform and your clock can all differ.
4. Add your own buffer. Stop opening new trades a few minutes before the window and wait a few minutes after it ends. That leaves room for clock differences and for releases that come slightly early or late.
5. Decide in advance what to do with open trades. The terms allow a position opened before the window to stay open. But the loss limits are equity-based, so a sharp move while the trade is open counts against your daily and max loss. Some traders choose to close or reduce before the buffer starts. That is a planning choice, not a requirement.
6. Check your automation. Pending orders and automated tools can fire inside a window without you touching anything. Look at them before the event.

The daily limit matters most here. A fast move can use a large part of the 5% (Two-Step) or 3% (One-Step) cushion in seconds. The guide to how to pass a prop challenge explains how a personal daily stop helps.

A sample morning

Suppose your calendar shows two releases today, at 09:30 and at 15:00.

• The restricted windows are 09:25 to 09:35 and 14:55 to 15:05.
• With a 10-minute buffer of your own, your personal no-order zones become 09:15 to 09:45 and 14:45 to 15:15.
• Everything outside those zones is ordinary trading time under your plan.

Write the zones on a note before the session starts. It takes two minutes and removes the need to judge the clock in the heat of the moment.

Mistakes to avoid

• A wrong time zone. The most common way to miss a window.
• Trusting a scheduled time without checking it. Releases can be moved or delayed.
• Entering "just after" the window with a clock that is a minute off.
• Forgetting a pending order that was placed the night before.
• Assuming a smaller event does not count.

The article on why traders fail prop challenges lists other rule-based mistakes. You can read the program rules in the rules.

Key points

• Orders executed within 5 minutes before or after covered events are restricted.
• Covered events include macroeconomic releases, central bank announcements, geopolitical events and similar events.
• A position opened before the window and closed after it is not a violation.
• The terms do not spell out every edge case, so avoid executing anything inside the window and ask support if unsure.
• Use a calendar, match time zones, add a buffer and check pending orders.
• Equity-based loss limits still apply while a trade stays open through an event.