Can I Trade News?

OANDA Prop Trading has restrictions on trading during major financial news events such as NFP, CPI, GDP, FED, ECB announcements. Participants should avoid executing any new trades or closing existing trades within a four-minute window: 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after the release of major news announcements. It’s important to note that executing a trade refers to either opening or closing trades from triggered pending orders (Entry Stops or Entry Limits), market orders, or EAs (Expert Advisors).

Exceptions to the news trading rules may be applied in some cases on review, for instance where open positions are closed due to triggered SL/TP orders.

News Trading is a forbidden practice as stated in our Terms and Conditions (available here), and can result in profit removal and/or account termination. To locate major economic news events, please refer to:

MT5 Calendar (Default); or

Dashboard > Economic Calendar

Any trades that are opened during this timeframe regardless of instrument traded will be automatically closed, and any profits or losses will be reflected in the account.

Let's look at some scenarios:

(Assume a high-impact news event like Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) is scheduled for 8:30 AM EST)

Restricted News Window: 8:28 AM EST to 8:32 AM EST.

Scenario 1: Opening a New Order During the Window (Breach)

Time: 8:31 AM EST (within the 8:28 AM EST to 8:32 AM window).
Action: A trader places a Market Buy order.
Result: Breach.
Reason: A new order was executed during the restricted news window.

Scenario 2: Manually Closing an Existing Order During the Window (Breach)

Time: 8:28 AM EST (within the 8:28 AM to 8:32 AM window).
Action: A trader has a position open from 8:15 AM EST and decides to manually close it.
Result: Breach.
Reason: An existing order was manually closed (executed) during the restricted news window.

Scenario 3: Pending Order Triggered During the Window (Breach)

Time: A trader placed a Buy Stop order at 8:20 AM EST (before the window). At 8:30:30 AM EST (within the 8:28 AM EST to 8:32 AM window), the market price hits the Buy Stop level.
Action: The pending Buy Stop order is triggered and executed.
Result: Breach
Reason: The order execution (the trigger and fill) occurred during the restricted news window. Placing the pending order beforehand doesn't exempt it if it triggers during the window.

Scenario 4: Adjusting TP/SL During the Window (No Breach)

Time: 8:29 AM EST (within the 8:28 AM to 8:32 AM window).
Action: A trader has a position open from 8:00 AM EST and adjusts the Stop Loss level on that existing order.
Result: No Breach.
Reason: Adjusting the TP or SL on an existing order is specifically allowed and does not count as executing an order under this rule.

Scenario 5: Pre-Set TP/SL Hit During the Window (No Breach)

Time: A trader has an order open from 7:50 AM EST with a Take Profit set. At 8:32 AM EST (within the 8:28 AM to 8:32 AM window), the market moves favorably and hits the Take Profit level.
Action: The Take Profit is automatically triggered, and the position is closed.
Result: No Breach.
Reason: The position was closed automatically by a pre-set TP or SL trigger, not by a manual execution initiated by the trader during the window.

Scenario 6: Executing an Order Just Before the Window (No Breach)

Time: 8:25:50 AM EST (just before the 8:26 AM start time).
Action: A trader places a Market Sell order.
Result: No Breach.
Reason: The order was executed before the restricted news window started.

Scenario 7: Executing an Order Just After the Window (No Breach)

Time: 8:32:10 AM EST (just after the 8:32 AM end time).
Action: A trader places a Market Buy order.
Result: No Breach.
Reason: The order was executed after the restricted news window ended.