If you trade with FTMO, news trading can get confusing quickly.

You may have heard that FTMO restricts trading around major economic announcements. You may also have seen traders saying news trading is completely allowed during the Challenge.

Both can be true.

The difference comes down to which FTMO product you are using, which stage you are in, which account type you have, and which news event is taking place.

This guide breaks down the current FTMO news trading rules, the 2-minute blackout window, the events and instruments affected, and practical ways traders can approach major releases such as NFP, CPI and FOMC.

FTMO News Trading Rules at a Glance

The most important distinction is between the Evaluation Process, the FTMO Account, and FTMO Futures.

For the CFD products, FTMO says the selected-news restriction applies only once you are trading on an FTMO Account and only to the Standard account type. It does not apply during the Evaluation Process, and the Swing account has no news restriction.

FTMO Futures has separate rules and currently states that news trading is allowed during any phase with no special news restrictions, subject to its Forbidden Trading Practices.

Can You Trade News During the FTMO Challenge?

Yes.

During the FTMO Evaluation Process, the selected-news trading restriction does not apply.

That means traders can trade during macroeconomic releases while completing:

• FTMO Challenge 1-Step

• FTMO Challenge 2-Step

• Verification in the 2-Step process

FTMO states that this applies regardless of whether the evaluation uses the Standard or Swing account type. Other FTMO rules still apply, including rules concerning prohibited trading practices.

This is one of the most important things to understand about FTMO news trading because many explanations online combine the evaluation rules and funded-account rules.

They are not the same.

What Is the FTMO News Trading Blackout?

For the Standard FTMO Account, selected news releases have a restricted trading window.

The restriction begins:

2 minutes before the release

and ends:

2 minutes after the release

Within that window, you cannot open or close trades on the targeted instruments.

FTMO explicitly says this includes the execution of pending orders, including:

• Stop Loss

• Take Profit

• Other pending orders

• Market execution

You can hold a position that was opened more than 2 minutes before the restricted event.

However, if the Stop Loss or Take Profit of that position is triggered during the restricted window, FTMO says that can still constitute a breach of the FTMO Account Agreement.

Example

Suppose a restricted announcement is scheduled for 8:30.

The relevant FTMO Standard-account window is:

8:28 → 8:32

Opening or closing a targeted instrument inside that window is restricted.

This is why simply saying “I don't trade the news” is not necessarily enough.

A trade you opened earlier can still become relevant if an automatic order closes it during the restricted period.

Which News Events Are Restricted at FTMO?

FTMO does not apply the restriction to every economic-calendar event.

It publishes a specific list of selected announcements and the instruments affected by them. Restricted events are also marked in FTMO's Economic Calendar.

USD news

For USD events, the current FTMO list includes:

• Federal Funds Rate & Statement

• Non-Farm Employment Change

• Unemployment Rate & Wages

• Advance GDP q/q

• FOMC Meeting Minutes

• CPI y/y

The affected USD-related simulated instruments include:

• Forex pairs involving USD

• Gold (XAUUSD)

• US indices

• DXY

Crude oil also has a separate restricted event for crude-oil inventories.

EUR news

The current listed restriction includes:

• Main Refinancing Rate

GBP news

The current listed restrictions include:

• Official Bank Rate & MPC Votes

• CPI

CAD news

The current listed restrictions include:

• Overnight Rate / Bank of Canada Rate Statement

• CPI

• Employment Change / Unemployment Rate

AUD news

The current listed restrictions include:

• Cash Rate & RBA Statement

• Employment Change / Unemployment Rate

• CPI

• GDP

NZD news

The current listed restrictions include:

• Official Cash Rate & RBNZ Rate Statement

• Employment Change / Unemployment Rate

• CPI

• GDP

CHF news

The current listed restriction includes:

• SNB Policy Rate

The important thing is that the news event and the instrument both matter.

Can You Trade NFP With FTMO?

Yes during the Evaluation Process.

On the Standard FTMO Account, however, US Non-Farm Employment Change is one of the restricted events.

FTMO's current examples show that instruments such as USDJPY and GBPUSD are affected by the NFP restriction.

That does not mean every forex pair becomes restricted simply because NFP is being released.

FTMO explicitly gives EURGBP and AUDNZD as examples of non-targeted instruments that can still be traded during the NFP release.

So the relevant question is not simply:

“Is NFP happening?”

It is:

“Is NFP happening, and is the instrument I'm trading one of the affected instruments?”

Can You Trade CPI With FTMO?

During the Evaluation Process, yes.

On a Standard FTMO Account, US CPI is one of FTMO's selected restricted announcements for USD-related instruments.

That includes relevant forex pairs involving USD, XAUUSD, US indices and DXY.

CPI is particularly important for news traders because the market often reacts not simply to whether inflation was “high” or “low,” but to how the result compares with expectations and what it could mean for future monetary policy.

For a deeper explanation of how economic releases affect markets, see How Economic Releases Move Markets.

Can You Trade FOMC With FTMO?

During the Evaluation Process, yes.

For Standard FTMO Accounts, the Federal Funds Rate & Statement and FOMC Meeting Minutes are both included in the current list of restricted USD announcements.

Because FOMC events can affect multiple markets at once, the reaction can extend beyond a single currency pair.

A rate decision can affect:

• USD

• Gold

• Equity indices

• Treasury markets

• Other currencies

• Broader risk sentiment

This is one reason news traders need to think beyond the individual candle.

Can You Trade News on FTMO Swing?

Yes.

FTMO states that the Swing account type has no restrictions on trading during news releases.

The selected-news restriction described above applies to Standard FTMO Accounts, not Swing.

That makes the distinction between Standard and Swing particularly important when reading older FTMO news-trading content. Some pages may describe the 2-minute restriction as though it applies to every FTMO trader.

It does not.

Can You Trade News on FTMO Futures?

Yes.

FTMO Futures has a separate news-trading rule.

FTMO currently states that news trading is allowed during any phase of FTMO Futures, with no special news restrictions, provided traders do not engage in Forbidden Trading Practices.

This means you should not automatically apply the CFD Standard-account 2-minute rule to FTMO Futures.

They are separate products with separate rule sets.

FTMO News Trading Strategies

Knowing that a prop firm allows or restricts news trading is only the first part of the problem.

The next question is:

How should you actually approach a market when a major release is coming?

There is no single “best” FTMO news-trading strategy. Different traders use different approaches depending on their timeframe, technical system and risk tolerance.

The useful thing is to understand the main ways traders approach the market around major releases.

Strategy 1: Trade the Setup, Not the Headline

A common mistake is treating the headline itself as the trade.

For example:

CPI came in hotter than expected → sell gold.

Markets are not that simple.

The actual result matters, but so do expectations, positioning and the reaction across other markets.

A technical trader may instead start with a setup that already exists and then ask:

What is happening around this setup?

A breakout, support level or reversal setup may still be relevant.

But knowing that a major release is approaching can change the context in which that setup is developing.

For more on combining technical analysis with broader market context, see Fundamental Analysis for Technical Traders.

Strategy 2: Wait for the Market to React

Another approach is to avoid trying to predict the initial move.

Instead, let the market react first.

For example:

1. Major CPI release occurs.

2. Gold moves sharply.

3. USD reacts.

4. Related markets react.

5. Price either continues or reverses.

6. The trader evaluates the setup after the initial volatility.

This avoids making the entire trade dependent on predicting the first few seconds after the release.

It can also make the market easier to interpret because you can observe the reaction rather than simply guessing what the number means.

Strategy 3: Look for the Wider Market Reaction

This is where things get particularly interesting for technical traders.

Suppose XAUUSD suddenly drops.

The first question is obvious:

What happened to gold?

But you can also ask:

What happened to the US dollar?

What happened to silver?

What happened to stocks?

Was there a major economic release?

Did other markets react at the same time?

These relationships are not fixed signals.

They are context.

A large move occurring alongside several related market moves can tell you much more than the isolated candle.

For a broader explanation of these relationships, see What Moves Financial Markets?

Strategy 4: Trade the Post-News Environment

Some traders focus less on the release itself and more on what happens afterward.

The initial spike may create:

• A breakout

• A failed breakout

• A reversal

• A continuation

• A new trend

• A liquidity-driven move

The important part is that the market has now received new information.

The post-release environment can therefore look very different from the market that existed five minutes earlier.

Instead of asking:

“How do I predict the number?”

the trader can ask:

“What changed, and does my setup still make sense?”

Strategy 5: Use News as Context for a Technical Trade

This is arguably the most natural approach for traders who are primarily technical.

You don't have to become a full-time fundamental trader.

You can keep your normal process:

Chart → setup → entry criteria

and add:

What is happening around this setup?

That can mean checking upcoming events, current market conditions, related markets, positioning and major developments.

The purpose is not to turn every setup into a macroeconomic research project.

It is to avoid making a decision while being blind to something significant happening around the market.

How to Understand a Big Move During FTMO News Trading

One of the most useful questions a trader can ask is:

Why did this market suddenly move?

A chart can show you:

• When the move happened

• How large it was

• Which level was broken

• How price behaved afterward

But it cannot necessarily tell you what changed outside the chart.

That is where a structured investigation helps.

Start with the exact time of the move.

Then check:

1. Economic releases

Was something released at the same time?

2. Expectations

Was the result meaningfully different from what the market expected?

3. Related markets

Did the dollar, gold, oil, stocks, rates or other relevant markets move too?

4. Breaking news

Was there an unexpected headline or central-bank comment?

5. Positioning

Was the market already heavily positioned for one outcome?

6. The reaction afterward

Did the initial move continue or reverse?

This is the basic framework explained in more detail in How to Understand Why a Market Moved.

Why News Trading Is About More Than the Economic Calendar

An economic calendar tells you when scheduled information will arrive.

That is useful.

But the calendar doesn't tell you everything happening in the market.

A large price move can happen because of:

• An economic release

• A central-bank statement

• A government announcement

• A geopolitical development

• A major financial headline

• A cross-market move

• A change in expectations

• Positioning

• Several factors at the same time

This is why a trader can see a huge candle and still have no idea what caused it.

The market does not care whether information fits neatly into one calendar category.

For a broader framework, see What Moves Financial Markets?

How EchelonEdgeAI Fits Into FTMO News Trading

This is where EchelonEdgeAI was built to fit naturally into the process.

A technical trader already has a chart.

The problem is everything happening around that chart.

A major move in EURUSD might coincide with a move in the dollar and a major economic announcement.

Gold may move while the dollar, silver and other markets are moving too.

An index may sell off at the same time that rates and other risk assets are changing.

Trying to follow all of this manually can become a large research process.

Echelon brings relevant market context around the asset being analysed.

Instead of treating the candle as an isolated event, it helps traders investigate:

What else was moving?

What changed around the move?

Were there important events at the same time?

What does the broader market environment look like?

That is particularly useful when a large move appears and the chart alone does not provide an obvious explanation.

To understand the broader idea behind Echelon, see Echelon: Fundamental Analysis for Technical Traders.

A Practical FTMO News-Trading Checklist

Before trading around a major event, a simple checklist can help.

Before the release

Know your FTMO account type.

Standard, Swing and Futures do not have identical news rules.

Know the event.

Check whether it is one of FTMO's restricted announcements.

Know the instrument.

The restriction applies to targeted instruments, not every market.

Know the exact time.

For Standard accounts, remember the 2-minute-before to 2-minute-after window.

Know what is already happening.

Look at your technical setup and the wider market environment.

During the release

Avoid assuming the first spike tells you everything.

Watch how different markets react.

A headline can produce an immediate move that changes again seconds or minutes later.

After the release

Ask:

Did the market confirm the initial reaction?

Did related markets move too?

Did the move reverse?

Does the original technical setup still make sense?

This is often more useful than trying to predict the exact first tick.

FTMO News Trading: Standard vs Swing vs Futures

The easiest way to remember the current structure is:

Standard FTMO Account

Selected news releases have a 2-minute-before to 2-minute-after restriction on affected instruments.

Swing FTMO Account

No restriction on trading during news releases.

FTMO Evaluation

The selected-news restriction does not apply during the Evaluation Process.

FTMO Futures

News trading is allowed during all phases without a special news restriction.

The exact rules can change, so check FTMO's current official documentation before trading around a major event.

The Bottom Line

So, can you news trade with FTMO?

Yes.

But whether there is a restriction depends on the exact FTMO product and account type.

During the Evaluation Process, FTMO's selected-news restriction does not apply.

On a Standard FTMO Account, selected releases have a 2-minute blackout before and 2 minutes after the announcement for affected instruments.

Swing accounts have no news restriction.

FTMO Futures currently allows news trading during all phases.

But the more interesting question for a trader is not simply:

“Am I allowed to trade this news?”

It is:

“What is actually happening around my trade?”

A major release can change currencies, gold, indices and other markets at the same time.

A technical chart shows the result.

The wider market can help explain the environment around that result.

That is why the best FTMO news-trading workflow is not just knowing the blackout time.

It is knowing:

What is happening.

What is changing.

What could affect the setup.

And what the market is doing with the new information.