How to trade the news safely in a prop firm challenge
News trading is allowed at Capifront — but a single release can move price further in a minute than in a whole session. Here is how to handle it without breaching a limit.
Is news trading allowed?
Yes. Capifront allows news trading on every evaluation and funded account. What is not allowed is trading only around or immediately before high-impact releases to exploit the simulation’s spread, slippage or gap behaviour rather than to express a genuine market view. Read the full list of prohibited practices in the trading rules.
Why news is dangerous for drawdown limits
Releases such as US CPI, Non-Farm Payrolls and central-bank rate decisions can move major pairs and gold sharply within seconds. Spreads widen, price can gap past your stop-loss and the fill can be worse than planned. Because the daily loss limit is measured on equity — including open trades — a position caught on the wrong side of a release can breach the limit before you can react.
Five ways to handle high-impact news
- Check the calendar every morning. Use the economic calendar and note every high-impact event for the currencies you trade.
- Reduce or close exposure before the release. If an open trade could lose more than your daily stop on a gap, cut it or move the stop to break-even before the event.
- Size down if you do trade it. Assume slippage: risk half your normal amount on any trade open during a release.
- Wait for the first move to settle. Many traders let the first 5–15 minutes pass and trade the structure that forms afterwards, when spreads have normalised.
- Never hold correlated positions into a release. A dollar-moving event hits every USD pair at once.
A simple news-day routine
- Before the session: list the events, their times (in server time) and the pairs affected.
- 15 minutes before: decide — flat, reduced, or protected with a stop at break-even.
- After the release: do not chase the spike; wait for a clear setup that matches your plan.
- End of day: journal what happened so your next news day follows the same rules.
The bottom line
News days are not forbidden, but they are where small mistakes become account-ending ones. Treat every high-impact release as a risk event, keep your position size small and let your plan — not the headline — decide the trade. For the full framework, see 5 risk rules every prop firm trader needs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hold trades over news at Capifront?
Yes, news trading and holding positions through releases are allowed. Trading only around releases to exploit simulation spreads, slippage or gaps is prohibited.
Can a news spike breach my daily loss limit?
Yes. The daily limit includes floating losses on open trades, so a sharp move can breach it even if the trade is later closed at a smaller loss.
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All Capifront accounts are simulated demo accounts using virtual funds. This article is educational and is not financial or investment advice. Trading on margin carries a high level of risk.