FTMO splits across two evaluation paths (1-Step and 2-Step) with rules that differ meaningfully — 3% vs 5% daily loss, 10% trailing vs 10% static max loss, and a 50% Best Day rule on Funded payouts. Full rule breakdown in my FTMO rules guide, or read my complete FTMO review. Sign up at FTMO or check the Help Center.
The news trading rule at FTMO is one of the most frequently misunderstood parts of the account structure. Short version: Standard accounts ban it, Swing accounts allow it. That split is not a minor footnote. It is the primary reason the Swing variant exists as a separate product.
Here is what you need to know before picking your path.
Can you trade news at FTMO?
Yes and no, depending on which account type you are on.
FTMO operates two evaluation paths: the 1-Step Challenge and the 2-Step Challenge. The 2-Step comes in two variants: Standard and Swing. Those two variants differ on exactly two rules: news trading and overnight/weekend holding.
Standard: both restricted. Swing: both allowed.
The 1-Step Challenge has no Swing variant. You get one version, Standard rules apply, and news trading restrictions are in effect. If news trading is core to how you trade, the 2-Step Swing path is your only option at FTMO.
Paul has traded FTMO for approximately 4 years and withdrawn $15K+ in real payouts, scalping the 1-Step Challenge primarily on Standard $50K and $100K sizes. His style consists of short-duration trades that exit well before major releases. That approach works inside the Standard framework without any friction. If your strategy requires holding through scheduled data prints, the Swing route is worth the extra scrutiny.
See the FTMO accounts overview if you want a side-by-side breakdown of 1-Step vs 2-Step before deciding which path to enter.
It is worth noting that this question gets asked constantly because FTMO is, by volume, the biggest prop firm in the world as of May 2026. Over 3.5 million customers across 140+ countries, $500M+ in cumulative payouts. When new traders research FTMO, the news trading rule is one of the first things they run into because it is different from what many other platforms do. The short answer exists, but the detail matters if you are going to trade around a macro calendar.
What's the news rule on Standard accounts?
On Standard accounts, you cannot hold any open position within a 2-minute window before or after a scheduled high-impact news event.
Flat before. Flat after. That is the full rule.
In practice: if Non-Farm Payrolls hits at 8:30 AM ET, you need to be out of all positions by 8:28 AM and cannot enter again until 8:32 AM. The window is 4 minutes total, 2 minutes on each side of the release time.
This applies to the funded FTMO Account, which is the live stage after you pass the evaluation. FTMO's official documentation frames this as a rule for the funded stage, not explicitly during the Challenge evaluation. That said, experienced FTMO traders apply the same discipline during evaluation as during funding. Trading as if every rule is live from day one is good practice and avoids edge-case disputes during the review process.
One thing that catches people off-guard: partial closes. If you have a position open and you close part of it before the window opens, the remaining open portion still counts as a violation if it is held through the release. You need to be completely flat, not partially flat.
A second edge case worth knowing: correlated positions. Holding both EUR/USD long and USD/JPY short heading into an FOMC decision creates an indirect USD exposure that could still be flagged. The safer path is to close everything in front of any high-impact event, regardless of how hedged the portfolio looks on paper.
The FTMO rules overview covers all restrictions together, including the Best Day consistency rule on the 1-Step and the daily loss limit differences between account types.
What counts as high-impact news?
The restriction applies specifically to high-impact events. FTMO does not publish its own proprietary list. The standard in practice is any event flagged red on major economic calendars like Forex Factory, Investing.com, or Bloomberg.
The events that reliably trigger restriction windows:
| Event | Typical Frequency | Why It's High-Impact |
|---|---|---|
| FOMC Interest Rate Decision | 8 times per year | Largest single mover in forex markets |
| Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) | Monthly (first Friday) | Primary US labor market signal |
| CPI (Consumer Price Index) | Monthly | Core inflation indicator, drives rate expectations |
| ECB Interest Rate Decision | 8 times per year | Euro-specific equivalent of FOMC |
| Bank of England (BoE) Rate Decision | 8 times per year | GBP-specific rate driver |
| GDP (Gross Domestic Product) | Quarterly (advance estimate) | Broad economic health signal |
| PPI (Producer Price Index) | Monthly | Upstream inflation signal, leads CPI trends |
| ISM Manufacturing / Services | Monthly | Leading indicator for economic activity |
Any event on that list generates the 2-minute flat window on both sides of the scheduled release time. Traders running pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/USD need to track both US and European calendars, which can mean multiple restricted windows in a single trading day. A heavy week in macro can realistically produce 4 or 5 separate restricted windows.
For pairs involving USD/JPY, events like Bank of Japan policy statements and Tokyo CPI also qualify as high-impact. The working rule: if it shows as red on a professional calendar, treat it as restricted on your Standard account.
One practical habit worth building: bookmark a weekly economic calendar view at the start of each week and mark every red event for the upcoming 5 trading days. Unexpected morning prints catch people who only check their calendar day-by-day.
A few more events that can qualify as high-impact depending on current macro context: US Retail Sales, JOLTS Job Openings, the Federal Open Market Committee minutes release (the minutes document, not just the rate decision), and flash PMI prints from the Eurozone. None of these are universally categorized as red on every calendar, but during periods of elevated macro sensitivity, they can move markets aggressively. When in doubt, close ahead of any event Forex Factory marks orange or red.
One category that confuses some traders: central bank speeches, particularly Fed Chair Powell speeches and ECB President Lagarde press conferences. These are not always marked red on calendars, but they can deliver surprise guidance that moves EUR/USD 50 pips in 60 seconds. The news restriction technically applies to scheduled events on economic calendars. Unscheduled remarks at conferences or press Q&As are not in the same category. That said, if you know a major central bank speech is happening, operating without a stop and with a full-size position is a bad idea on any account type.
What's the news rule on Swing accounts?
No restriction.
Swing 2-Step accounts can hold positions through any news release, including FOMC and NFP. There is no pre-release flat requirement and no post-release holding ban. You can enter one second before a CPI print and hold through the volatility spike. All of this is within the Swing account rules.
The structure is otherwise identical to Standard: same profit targets (Phase 1 = 10%, Phase 2 = 5%), same account sizes ($10K through $200K), same pricing, same drawdown limits (5% daily loss, 10% max static loss). The only differences are news trading and overnight/weekend holding, both lifted on Swing.
FTMO prices the Swing variant identically to Standard. The choice is purely about trading style, not cost. If you want the news restriction gone, Swing costs the same as Standard: from 155 EUR at $10K up to 1,080 EUR at $200K on the 2-Step path.
Why does FTMO restrict news on Standard?
Slippage.
During high-impact events, liquidity evaporates. Market makers and FTMO's liquidity providers pull their quotes in the seconds before and after major releases. Spreads that sit at 0.1 to 0.3 pips on EUR/USD under normal conditions can spike to 10, 20, or 50+ pips during an NFP release.
A stop-loss set at 30 pips might fill at 60 pips. A take-profit order might not fill at all. A position sized normally for a trending day can get obliterated by a 100-pip candle that closes most of its move in under a second.
The restriction protects two parties simultaneously. The trader avoids uncontrollable execution. FTMO avoids paying out on positions where the actual fill level was genuinely undefined at order entry.
FTMO is a Forex and CFD firm. It does not offer futures, where exchange-guaranteed fills through a central clearinghouse create a different execution risk profile. On OTC forex instruments traded through liquidity providers, news events produce genuinely uncontrollable outcomes. The restriction is rational from both sides of the trade.
The Swing variant exists for traders who explicitly want to take on that risk: news traders, macro discretionary traders, and systematic strategies that specifically target the initial volatility of major releases. FTMO allows it, but on accounts where both parties have opted into that framework knowingly.
A brief word on why FTMO can make this kind of rule stick with credibility: as of December 2025, FTMO completed its acquisition of OANDA, one of the oldest regulated forex brokers. FTMO founders became OANDA co-CEOs in March 2026. A firm with that institutional backing and $329M in 2024 revenue does not ignore rule enforcement. If a rule is on the books, it is being monitored.
What happens if you violate?
The consequence depends on the stage you are at.
During the Challenge evaluation: FTMO may flag a news trading violation during post-evaluation review. There is no automatic account termination during evaluation, but pattern violations can affect whether FTMO approves the transition to funded status. If FTMO determines the trading behavior does not comply with account conditions during review, they can decline to grant the funded account.
On the funded FTMO Account: a news trading restriction violation is a breach. FTMO can terminate the funded account. There is no published policy guaranteeing a first-time warning. Some traders report receiving an initial flag before termination, but that is not contractually guaranteed and should not be counted on.
The practical risk is not primarily intentional news trading. The more common violation is a position that was opened earlier and not closed before the window opened. Here is a realistic scenario: you enter a EUR/USD long at midday on Wednesday, planning to hold into Thursday morning. You forget to check the calendar. CPI prints at 8:30 AM Thursday. You are holding through it on a Standard account. That is a breach.
Calendar discipline is non-negotiable if you run Standard accounts.
Two tools that help: an economic calendar alert set for 10 minutes before any red-flag event, and a daily pre-session checklist that confirms you know every high-impact release time before you place your first trade. Neither is complicated. Both are worth building into a routine.
One scenario that is becoming more common as FTMO's funded trader base grows: traders who get a warning message from FTMO risk management and are not sure whether it is a formal breach or an advisory. FTMO's communication on violations is not always immediately clear-cut. If you receive any message from FTMO's compliance or risk team referencing your news trading behavior, treat it as a serious flag regardless of phrasing. Do not continue trading the same pattern and assume it was just informational.
For a full picture of all funded account rules and what else can trigger a breach, see FTMO payout rules and the FTMO 2-Step Challenge guide.
How do peers compare?
FTMO's Standard/Swing split is one of the cleaner implementations in the industry. Competitors have taken meaningfully different approaches.
| Firm | News Trading Policy | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| FTMO Standard | Restricted: 2 min flat before and after high-impact events | Applies to funded stage |
| FTMO Swing | Fully allowed, no window restriction | Same pricing as Standard |
| [The5ers](/prop-firms/the5ers) | Allowed on most paths; Black Arrow path has its own rules | Multi-asset firm, generally flexible |
| [FundingPips](/prop-firms/fundingpips) | Restricted on all evaluation accounts | No Swing equivalent available |
| [FundedNext](/prop-firms/fundednext) | Standard restricted; Stellar Swing and Express Swing allow news | Similar product split to FTMO |
| [E8 Markets](/prop-firms/e8-markets) | Restricted on Standard; Swing accounts available | Similar Standard/Swing framework |
FTMO and FundedNext both run a Standard/Swing split with similar underlying logic. FundingPips applies the restriction across the board, no Swing exit available. The5ers' approach depends on which product you are on: the Black Arrow path that Paul tested on futures has different rules than the forex-focused tracks.
One difference worth noting: FundedNext runs multiple eval products (Stellar 2-Step, Stellar 1-Step, Rapid, Express), each with its own news rules. FTMO keeps it cleaner with just two variants on the 2-Step and a Standard-only 1-Step. Less to track.
A note on futures alternatives: if news trading is specifically what you are after and you want exchange-guaranteed fills rather than OTC slippage, futures-focused firms like Topstep or Apex have different execution infrastructure by design. FTMO is a Forex and CFD firm and will always carry the liquidity-provider dynamic that creates news-time slippage. Swing accounts at FTMO remove the restriction, but they do not change the underlying execution environment. If you want to fade an NFP print with a guaranteed fill at or very near your order price, the futures path is structurally different from what Swing at FTMO provides. That is not a knock on FTMO. It is a different product category entirely.
For FTMO traders focused on strategies that work within the Forex/CFD model, the Swing variant is a clean solution. The execution environment around news will still have wider spreads. The difference is you will not get a rule violation on top of the bad fill.
Detailed head-to-head breakdowns are available in the FTMO vs The5ers and FTMO vs FundedNext comparisons in the cluster.
The bottom line
The news trading rule at FTMO is a clean binary: Standard restricts, Swing allows.
On Standard 2-Step: be flat 2 minutes before and after high-impact events. FOMC, NFP, CPI, ECB, BoE, GDP, PPI, ISM all qualify. Violation on a funded account is a breach. The 1-Step Challenge runs on Standard rules only and has no Swing option.
On Swing 2-Step: no restriction. Hold through whatever you want.
The choice between Standard and Swing at FTMO is really a choice about your trading style. If you scalp or trend-trade between events, Standard works well. Paul scalps the 1-Step Challenge on Standard and exits before any scheduled release. That discipline is consistent with the rule and he has run it for 4 years without issue.
If news events are part of how you generate edge, Swing is available at the same price and removes both the news restriction and the overnight/weekend holding ban in one upgrade.
Get the FTMO rules overview for the full picture, or see the FTMO accounts overview to compare 1-Step vs 2-Step side by side. For platform selection across MT4, MT5, and cTrader, the FTMO platforms guide has everything you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you trade news at FTMO?
It depends on the account type. Standard 2-Step accounts prohibit holding open positions within 2 minutes before or after high-impact news events. Swing 2-Step accounts have no such restriction. If you want to trade news freely at FTMO, you need a Swing account.
What is the news trading rule on FTMO Standard accounts?
You must be flat (no open positions) for 2 minutes before and 2 minutes after any scheduled high-impact news event. The total window is roughly 4 minutes around each event. This applies to the funded FTMO Account stage.
Does the news trading restriction apply during the Challenge phase?
Technically the restriction is enforced on the funded FTMO Account, not the evaluation phase. That said, if FTMO detects pattern violations during the Challenge, it can be flagged in review. Best practice is to apply the same rules during evaluation.
Which events count as high-impact news at FTMO?
FOMC interest rate decisions, Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP), CPI (Consumer Price Index), ECB interest rate decisions, Bank of England (BoE) rate decisions, GDP releases, PPI (Producer Price Index), and ISM Manufacturing/Services data. Any event marked red on an economic calendar qualifies.
Can you trade news on FTMO Swing accounts?
Yes. Swing accounts explicitly allow news trading with no time-window restriction. You can hold positions through FOMC, NFP, and any other high-impact event. This is one of the defining differences between Standard and Swing.
Why does FTMO restrict news trading on Standard accounts?
Slippage. High-impact events produce extreme volatility in a fraction of a second. FTMO's liquidity providers widen spreads dramatically or go dark entirely around major releases. Positions that fill instantly in normal conditions can fill 10-30 pips off the intended level. The restriction protects both the trader and FTMO from uncontrollable execution outcomes.
What happens if you violate the news trading rule on a funded account?
Violation of the news trading restriction on a Standard funded FTMO Account is a rule breach. It can result in termination of the funded account. FTMO may issue a warning on first detection, but there is no guaranteed reprieve. The funded stage has zero tolerance for rule violations compared to the Challenge.
Does the 1-Step Challenge have a Swing variant?
No. The 1-Step Challenge only comes in Standard. If you want to trade news freely, you need the 2-Step Challenge with the Swing variant. There is no Swing option on the 1-Step path.
How does FTMO compare to The5ers and FundingPips on news trading?
The5ers (Black Arrow path) allows news trading on most accounts. FundingPips restricts news on all eval accounts. FundedNext has a similar Standard/Swing split to FTMO. FTMO's Swing option is one of the cleaner implementations in the industry.
Does overnight holding also differ between Standard and Swing?
Yes. Standard accounts require all positions closed before end of day and cannot hold over weekends. Swing accounts allow both overnight holds and weekend holds. The two restrictions (news and overnight) come as a package on Standard, and both are lifted on Swing.
Is there a specific calendar FTMO recommends for tracking news events?
FTMO does not mandate a specific calendar, but any major economic calendar works: Forex Factory, Investing.com, or Bloomberg. Filter for high-impact (red flag) events to identify the restricted windows.
Can scalpers trade around news on Standard accounts?
Only if you are fully flat before the 2-minute pre-event window. Scalpers who close positions 3-5 minutes before news and re-enter after the window has passed are within the rules. The issue arises when you are already in a trade and a news release hits mid-position.