News Trading & Economic Calendar
A practical guide to using economic calendars and major news events so you know when risk increases, when to stand aside and how to keep funded and personal accounts inside the rules.
This page focuses on process, not predictions. It helps you organize your own news plan around official economic releases and scheduled events, without promising any outcome for specific trades.
Who This Page Is For
- Day traders in futures, FX, indices and related markets who trade around US, European or global data releases.
- Prop-firm traders who must respect “no trading during high-impact news” rules on certain accounts.
- System traders and EA users who want a clear routine for avoiding unexpected volatility spikes.
- Anyone who has had a good position reversed in seconds by a scheduled economic announcement.
Why a News Plan Matters
- Volatility can increase sharply around major announcements, widening spreads and slippage.
- Some prop firms treat news-related losses as violations if trading is not permitted during those minutes.
- A written news routine reduces emotional decisions such as holding “just one more trade” into a release.
- Using a calendar properly can help you choose when to be aggressive, when to be defensive and when to be flat.
This is not about predicting the result of a report – it is about knowing when the market environment changes because of scheduled information.
1. Understanding Event Types & Impact
Economic calendars usually tag releases by impact level. The labels differ between providers, but the idea is similar: some events regularly move markets more than others.
High-Impact (“Tier-1”) Events
Often drives sharp moves- Central bank rate decisions and policy statements.
- Major labour market data and broad growth or inflation reports.
- Key sentiment or activity surveys that markets closely watch.
- Speeches or press conferences from leading central bank officials.
Many prop firms treat these as restricted windows on evaluation or funded accounts, so knowing their schedule is essential.
Medium-Impact Events
Context and follow-through- Regional reports, secondary inflation or employment indicators.
- Surveys and sector-level data that can move specific markets.
- Speeches from policymakers who are not currently voting on rates.
These can produce tradable moves, especially when they surprise relative to expectations, but they may not have firm trading restrictions attached.
Low-Impact & Background Data
Still part of the big picture- Routine releases that rarely cause large immediate spikes.
- Data that mostly influences medium-term narrative rather than intraday volatility.
- Local reports affecting specific countries or sectors.
These are still useful for understanding the environment but usually matter less for short intraday risk decisions.
2. Building Your Daily Economic Calendar Workflow
A calendar is most useful when it becomes part of your routine, not something you only check after a surprise move. The exact tools you use are up to you; the key is consistent process.
Pre-Session Routine
- Open your preferred economic calendar and filter for the countries and markets you trade.
- Mark the time of all high-impact events in your trading session, adjusted to your local time zone.
- Note which products are directly affected (for example, US indices, bonds or FX pairs for US releases).
- Decide in advance which events you will flat-out avoid and which you may trade around with reduced size.
In-Session Management
- Keep the calendar open near your charts so you always know how close you are to the next release.
- Have a clear cutoff time (e.g. X minutes before a tier-1 event) when you stop opening new trades in that product.
- Decide whether existing trades must be closed before the event or can be managed with adjusted size and stops, depending on your rules and any prop-firm restrictions.
- After the release, give the market a defined “cool-down” period before you consider new entries.
Writing these times down in your plan helps you act automatically instead of negotiating with yourself in the last minute.
3. Different Ways Traders Relate to News
Not every trader uses news the same way. What matters is that your approach matches your time frame, risk tolerance and the rules of your broker and prop firms.
News-Avoidance Approach
Stay clear of spikes- All high-impact events are treated as “no-trade zones” for affected products.
- Positions are closed a set time before important releases.
- New trades are paused until volatility stabilizes afterwards.
This can fit traders using prop accounts with strict rules or anyone who prefers to avoid sudden gaps and slippage.
News-Aware Technical Trader
Keep context, trade structure- Primary decisions are still based on technical setups and risk-reward.
- News is used as context: you avoid entries immediately before releases or adjust size.
- Stop placement and partial profits consider how wide spreads can become around events.
Specialist News Trader
Advanced, high-risk style- Focus is on trading reactions to the release compared to expectations and prior trends.
- Requires deep understanding of how specific markets respond to each report.
- Needs tight execution, risk controls and experience with slippage and fast order flow.
This style is complex and not necessary for most traders. Education here is about awareness, not about encouraging aggressive news trading.
4. Economic News & Prop-Firm Rules
Many funded accounts include specific language about trading during certain announcements. Respecting those rules is critical for keeping accounts in good standing.
Typical Considerations
- Some accounts restrict opening or holding positions in the affected products shortly before and after certain events.
- Rules may differ between evaluation, simulated funded and live accounts within the same firm.
- Firms can update their policies over time, so it is important to review official documentation regularly.
- Violations may affect payouts, account status or eligibility for future accounts even if total drawdown limits are not breached.
Practical Steps
- Maintain your own list of events that you treat as restricted, based on the strictest rules of the accounts you trade.
- Use labels or calendar alerts on your platform to highlight those times well in advance.
- Keep a trading log showing how you managed positions around major events; this helps with discipline and review.
- If rules are unclear, contact the firm directly and rely on written answers from official support channels.
The purpose is to align your personal risk plan with each firm’s rules so that you do not lose an account because of a misunderstanding.
5. News & Calendar Checklist
Use this checklist to stress-test your own approach to economic news and scheduled events.
- You have a single economic calendar you check at the start of each trading day.
- High-impact events in your trading session are marked in your local time zone.
- You know which instruments are directly affected by each event you track.
- Your trading plan defines exactly when you stop opening new trades before tier-1 events.
- You have rules for managing or closing open positions into major releases.
- Your prop-firm rules about news are written in your plan, not just remembered.
- You keep short notes after significant events about how the market behaved and how you managed risk.
How News & The Calendar Connect to the Rest of MRSLM Group
News planning works together with the other areas of the site:
- Risk, DD, Risk-Reward Education: helps you size trades appropriately when volatility rises around events.
- Trading & Prop Firms: explains evaluation and funded-account rules so your calendar routine fits firm requirements.
- Broker Accounts: clarifies how margin, spreads and execution behave during busy times in futures, FX and CFD markets.
- AI Tools & Bots: can include alerts, dashboards and filters so automated and discretionary trading respects the calendar.
When economic news is built into your daily process, spikes become part of a planned environment instead of random shocks.
Risk & Legal Notice
MRSLM Group LLC provides educational information only. Nothing on this page is financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and no specific broker, prop firm, platform, calendar provider or trading strategy is being recommended or guaranteed. Trading futures, foreign exchange, contracts for difference (CFDs), index products, options, cryptoassets and other leveraged instruments involves a high level of risk and can result in substantial losses, especially around economic news when spreads, volatility and slippage can increase significantly. Economic data, release schedules and trading rules may change; always consult official sources and the up-to-date documentation of your brokers, prop firms and calendar providers, and consider independent professional advice before trading with real capital or applying any news-related approach in live markets.