What is a news blackout in trading?

Definition A news blackout is a time window before and after a high-impact economic release during which a trader or an automated trading system opens no new trades on the currencies involved, for example 60 minutes before and 30 after.

A news blackout is a window around a scheduled high-impact release, such as the US jobs report, in which a trading bot opens no new trades. A news filter blocks a set time before and after each event for the currencies it affects, for example 60 minutes before and 30 minutes after.

Why a news blackout pauses trading

Around a major release the price can jump in seconds. A market order or a triggered stop fills at the next available price, which “could be markedly different than your stop price” (FINRA). That gap is slippage. A trade opened a few minutes before a release can lose more than its planned risk, or be stopped out by a spike and then see the price return.

Events ranked high impact include NFP, CPI and central bank decisions such as the FOMC’s. High-impact news in forex covers what each one is and when it comes out.

How a news filter works

A filter needs three things:

A calendar with importance levels. MT5 has one built in: the Calendar tab of the Toolbox, where each event has a release time and priority (MT5 help). An EA can read it through the MQL5 calendar functions, where the top level is CALENDAR_IMPORTANCE_HIGH.
A currency match. An event in US dollars blocks pairs with USD on either side. A filter that matches currencies leaves EURGBP alone for US data.
A window. Minutes before the release, when no new trade opens, and minutes after, while the price settles.

Common mistakes

Expecting it to protect open trades. A blackout stops new entries. A position opened earlier stays open through the release, with only its stop loss between it and the spike.
Comparing a backtest with live results. A backtest that cannot replay a news calendar includes trades the live filter would skip.
A silent calendar. If the feed stops updating, a filter can miss a new event without any warning.

The forex market hours tool shows the sessions in your own time zone, with a countdown to the next high-impact release.

The news filter in PipWarden

In PipWarden, the filter is on by default, under “News protection” on the account’s settings, with the toggle “Pause around high-impact news”. The window is 60 minutes before and 30 minutes after each high-impact event by default, and you can set each side from 0 to 720 minutes. It applies to the currencies of each pair, and a skipped signal is logged as “High-impact news”. Open positions are not closed: they keep their stop loss and take profit.

The events come from a third-party economic calendar, refreshed every 6 hours, not from the MT5 Calendar tab. The dashboard’s news calendar shows them and warns when the calendar is out of date. The backtest page does not simulate news blackouts, because no historical calendar is stored, so live results can differ from a backtest for that reason alone. If a bot is quiet around a release, why an EA is not taking trades explains how to read the reasons.

Frequently asked questions

Does a news blackout close open trades?

Not usually. A blackout blocks new entries. A trade opened before the window stays open through the release, protected only by its stop loss, which can fill past its level if the price jumps.

Which news counts as high impact?

Economic calendars rank events by importance. The high-impact group usually includes releases such as US payrolls (NFP), consumer prices (CPI) and central bank rate decisions such as the FOMC’s.

Educational content, not financial advice. Forex and CFDs are traded on margin and are high risk: you can lose money, and more than your deposit with some brokers. Examples use made-up numbers and show no real results. Read the risk disclosure.