Prop firms · 6 min read

Prop firms allowing news trading: the rules by firm

Which futures prop firms allow trading through scheduled news, which prohibit it, and the distinction most rule pages blur: a ban on opening a position in the release window is a different rule from a ban on holding through it. For a systematic strategy the first is an entry filter; the second is a forced exit. Firm table verified September 2026.

News restrictions are mostly a forex-prop problem. In futures, the large firms allow trading through releases; what varies is how they treat position size around them and whether an automated strategy can comply.

Which firms allow news trading

Firm	Window	Stage	What is restricted	Consequence
Apex	No fixed window published; one tracker cites 8 min	All	Strategies specifically targeting news; directional trading through news is allowed	Review; profit void possible
Topstep	None published	—	Nothing explicit; CME circuit breakers still apply	—
MyFundedFutures	2 min before Tier 1	Rapid / Pro sim-funded only; evaluations and Flex unrestricted	Must be flat 2 min before; no re-entry until 2 min after; straddles and strangles banned on all types	Profit void to termination
Tradeify	2 min either side on some plans; unrestricted on others	Plan-based	Opening new positions in the window	Soft breach
Lucid Trading	None published	—	—	—
Take Profit Trader	5 min either side	PRO / PRO+ only; Test accounts unrestricted	Trading around major events	Breach
TradeDay	Verify	—	Verify	Verify
Alpha Futures	Verify	—	Verify	Verify
Bulenox	None published	—	No stated restriction on strategies, bots or news	—
Phidias	None — news trading allowed	All	Nothing. FOMC, NFP and CPI may be traded through.	—
Top One Futures	None — allowed	All	10-second minimum hold time applies at all times	—
Funded Futures Family	None — permitted including Tier 1	All	Nothing; traders carry the slippage and gap risk	—
FundedNext	Short window on funded stage	Funded	Verify	Verify
FTMO	2 min either side of high-impact	Funded Standard 2-Step only; evaluation, Swing and 1-Step exempt	Opening or holding positions on the affected instrument	Profit from violating trades removed; repeat means suspension
FundingPips	5 min either side (2 Step); 10 min (Zero)	2 Step: funded. Zero: all stages.	Trades on the affected currency; Zero also bans holding through	Full profit of the trade deducted; hard breach on Zero
Maven Trading	2 min either side of high-impact	Standard, OMO Two-Step and Buy Now Pay Later; Instant exempt	Opening or closing in the window	Profits in the window voided

Cells marked “Verify” are where current rule trackers are silent or disagree; the firm's own help center is the only binding source. Rules change — this table was checked in September 2026.

The important distinction: a firm allowing news trading is not the same as a firm having no news-related rules. Position-size guidance around major releases, or a rule against holding oversized positions into a scheduled event, is common even where trading is permitted.

Why this is an automation problem, not a strategy problem

A discretionary trader simply does not click during a release. An automated strategy has no such instinct — it fires whenever its conditions are met, including four seconds before CPI.

That is how news-rule violations actually happen: not through deliberate news trading, but through a strategy that was never told the calendar exists. The fix is a calendar guard — a scheduled block that suppresses entries in a window around high-impact events, applied at the strategy level rather than left to the trader watching the clock.

We wrote about the mechanics in why automated strategies violate news rules.

What the release actually costs you

Even where the rule permits it, the execution rarely does. Spreads widen, fills degrade, and a stop that would normally cost one tick can cost five. For a strategy sized against a trailing drawdown, one bad fill in a thin book is a meaningful fraction of the risk budget.

The asymmetry is worth stating plainly: trading a release adds variance without adding edge for most systematic approaches, because the edge was measured on data where the average bar was not a news bar. If your backtest includes news sessions and still holds up, that is information. If you never checked, assume it does not.

Practical setup

Block the window, not the day. A guard covering a few minutes either side of high-impact releases costs almost nothing in opportunity and removes the entire category of risk.

Flatten before, do not exit during. Exiting into the spike is the expensive version. If a position would be open across a scheduled release, close it beforehand on a rule rather than reacting.

Check the funded terms, not just the evaluation. As with drawdown models, some firms apply different rules once you are funded.

Our futures configurations carry an end-of-day flat and calendar-aware entry suppression for exactly these reasons — see the setup guide and the per-tier sizing on the portfolios page.

See every prop firm rule, grouped by mechanism →

Playbook · by email

The rule is the filter. The Playbook shows what fits through it.

Which configurations fit tight daily limits, trailing floors and consistency rules — sized to the drawdown, not the balance. One PDF, then our letters with what the systems did.

Two distinct rules hide behind "news trading": a ban on opening in the window (an entry filter for a systematic strategy) and a ban on holding through it (a forced flat). MFF and FTMO are the second kind; Tradeify and TopOneFutures the first. Coding the wrong one passes the evaluation and fails the funded account.

FAQ

Which prop firms allow news trading?

Most futures firms do, including Lucid Trading, Topstep, Apex, MyFundedFutures and Take Profit Trader. Lucid permits it explicitly on all accounts including NFP, FOMC and CPI. News windows and blackout periods are far more common among forex and CFD firms than futures firms.

Can an automated strategy break a news rule accidentally?

Yes, and this is the usual way it happens. An automated strategy fires whenever its conditions are met, including moments before a scheduled release. A calendar guard that suppresses entries in a window around high-impact events removes the risk at the strategy level.

Should I trade through news releases on a funded account?

For most systematic strategies the release adds variance without adding edge, because the strategy was validated on data where the average bar was not a news bar. Spreads widen and fills degrade exactly when your stop is most likely to be hit.

Do news rules differ between evaluation and funded accounts?

They can. Some firms apply different restrictions once you are funded, in the same way that drawdown models sometimes change between phases. Check the funded account terms rather than assuming the evaluation rules carry over.

Verified July 2026. Prop firm rules change often and several firms rewrote their rulebooks in 2026. Confirm every figure on the firm’s official site before purchasing an evaluation.

Performance figures are a combination of live-tracked and modeled results. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.