News releases cause the fastest moves in forex. They also cause the most blown accounts.
What happens at release time
- Spreads widen as liquidity providers step back.
- Slippage: stops can fill far from their level.
- Whipsaws: price spikes one way, then the other.
Four approaches
- Stay flat: close or protect trades before high-impact news. Simple and smart.
- Wait 15–30 minutes: mark the release candle's high and low, trade the break.
- Fade the spike at a level: if a spike hits a major level and rejects, trade back the other way.
- Trade the theme: use the data to update your bias for the next days.
Pro tip
Prop firms often ban opening or closing trades a few minutes around high-impact news. Read your rules!
Wick says
Guessing the NFP number and going all in. The number was right, the market went the other way. Markets are weird like that.
Key takeaways
- Expect wide spreads and slippage around releases.
- Waiting for the dust to settle is safer than guessing.
- Check prop firm news rules.