forex-scalping.com

Brokers use the weekend to update their servers. A new build of the platform, a change in the symbol list, a modification of leverage or margin, all can be applied between Friday close and Sunday open.

For scalpers, the effect shows up on Monday morning, or at the Sunday open, as something that works differently. A symbol's name changes. The trade size step is different. An EA that worked on Friday throws an error because a setting disappeared.

Some updates also reset the history, so that charts reload data from scratch and indicators recalculate. Others alter the minimum lot or stop level.

Brokers do announce major changes, usually by email or in the platform's news feed, which many people never read. A fast scan of the broker's notices on Sunday, before the open, can prevent a lot of surprises.

Another tip: open a small test trade at the start of the week to confirm that execution, spread and lot sizes match expectations. It costs a few cents and confirms that the setup still works.

Brokers' notices pages and the platform's built-in mailbox usually list planned maintenance. A glance at both on Sunday evening, before the market opens, takes under a minute.

What was the strangest thing that changed over a weekend on a trading account?

The strangest one for me was a broker quietly changing the contract size on gold over a weekend. On Friday one lot was a hundred ounces, on Monday the symbol had a new suffix and the old one was close only. My EA was still attached to the old symbol, so it simply sat there doing nothing for half the morning while I wondered why the market was so quiet.

There had been an email about it, of course, sitting in the promotions folder with the newsletters. Once I found it, the change was clearly explained, including a new minimum stop distance that would have broken my settings anyway.

Since then I do a version of your test trade every Sunday evening, or first thing Monday if I miss it. I open the smallest possible position on each symbol my systems use, check that the spread, lot step and stop placement all look normal, and close it straight away. It costs a few cents a week, and I also set a filter so anything from the broker skips the promotions folder.