News Blackout Window
Also known as: news restriction, blackout period, high-impact news window, news trading rule
What is it?
A news blackout window is a stretch of time around a scheduled high-impact economic release during which your funded-account rules forbid trading. The window is usually two minutes either side of the release, sometimes five, and it applies only to events the firm names - typically US non-farm payrolls, CPI prints and central bank rate decisions. The wording is where traders get caught. A rule that says no trading during the window bans opening and closing inside it; a rule that says no positions open during the window also bans holding one through it.
No blackout rule
US CPI prints at 13:30.
- You are long EUR/USD from 13:29
- The spread widens from 0.4 to 6 pips
- Your stop fills 11 pips past its level
- Whatever happens, the result is yours
A coin flip you are allowed to take.
Blackout window: 13:28-13:32
US CPI prints at 13:30.
- Opening or closing inside the window is a breach
- At many firms, merely holding through it is too
- Your 13:29 entry sits inside the window
- Profit removed - or the account closed
The trade had to be flat by 13:27.
Those are different rules, and the second one means a trade entered at 13:20 and left running into a 13:30 release is a breach even though you touched nothing. Firms impose it for two reasons. Spreads widen and slippage jumps during a release, so their own hedging is unreliable exactly then; and a trader who passes an evaluation on one straddled release has demonstrated nothing repeatable. Penalties range from the trade being voided and its profit removed, through a warning, to the account being closed.
Your capital is at risk. See /risk-warning.
Why it matters: Breaching it can void a profitable trade or the whole account, and the rule often bans holding a position through the release, not just trading during it.
A single position held into a named release can have its profit removed or close the account, regardless of whether the trade won.
Real-world example
A firm bans trading two minutes either side of US CPI. A EUR/USD long opened at 13:29 and closed at 13:33 sits inside the window, so its profit is removed even though the trade won.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots signals carry a timestamp, so a setup that fires inside a release window can be skipped rather than taken - the economic calendar decides that, not the signal. See /risk-warning.
Pro tip
Put the firm's named releases in your calendar with the window already added at both ends, so the blocked minutes are on your chart before the setup appears.
Common pitfalls
Reading the rule as do not click during the news. Many firms also count a position merely held open through the release as a breach.
Frequently asked questions
Which events count as high-impact?
Only the ones the firm lists. That is normally rate decisions, CPI, non-farm payrolls and GDP for the currencies it offers. A red flag on a public calendar is not the rule - the firm's own event list is.
Can a stop-loss trigger inside the window?
Yes, and most firms do not penalise it, because you did not act. Some still void the trade, which is why the safer approach is to be flat before the window rather than to rely on how a firm treats a forced exit.
Does the window apply on a funded account or only in the evaluation?
It usually applies to both, and the consequence is worse on the funded side because the account holds real allocated capital and a pending payout. Confirm it separately for each stage.
How do I keep an automated strategy out of the window?
Use a news filter that reads a calendar feed and blocks new orders inside the window, and have it flatten open positions before the window opens rather than at the release itself.
Why do firms restrict news trading at all?
Liquidity thins and spreads widen at the release, so their hedging is unreliable exactly then. A result produced by straddling one print also tells them nothing about whether the strategy repeats.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Historical and backtested results do not guarantee future performance. Read the full risk warning.
