TIME-BASED PRE-TRADE BLOCK

News Blackout

Blocks trading on affected currency pairs during high-impact news events.

How It Works

PipsGuard pulls the economic calendar and identifies upcoming news events with their affected currencies and impact levels. During the blackout window (configurable minutes before and after the event), trading is blocked on any symbol containing the affected currency.

For example, if a USD news event is scheduled, EURUSD, GBPUSD, XAUUSD, and all other USD pairs are blocked. The blackout lifts automatically once the post-event window expires.

Configuration

Parameter	Default	Description
minutes_before	15	Block trading this many minutes before news
minutes_after	15	Block trading this many minutes after news
impact_levels	high	Which levels to block: high, medium, low
auto_close_before_news	false	Close positions before news window starts
block_all_during_news	false	Block ALL symbols (not just affected pairs)

When This Rule Fires

Pre-trade: During the blackout window (minutes_before to minutes_after around the event), any trade request on an affected symbol is blocked before it reaches your broker.

Monitor: If auto_close_before_news is enabled, existing positions on affected symbols are also closed when the blackout window begins.

Best For

Traders destroyed by NFP, FOMC & high-impact events Prop firm traders — many firms penalize news trading Anyone who trades through news "hoping for the best"

Pro Tips

For prop firms, set minutes_before and minutes_after to match their specific news trading window (typically 2–15 minutes).
Enable block_all_during_news if you want to avoid all trading during high-impact releases.
News Blackout blocks new trades but does not close existing positions by default — enable auto_close_before_news if you also want open positions closed before the event.

Configure This Rule →

Enable News Blackout in your dashboard.