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Prop challenges and news rules: building a calendar filter

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2026 10:15 pm
by FXS London Scalper
a number of evaluation firms limit activity near major scheduled releases, typically a few minutes before and after. Breaking the rule by accident is a common way to fail.

A practical filter:
  • Use one economic calendar and check that its time zone matches your platform or your local time.
  • Each morning, list the restricted events for your pairs with exact times.
  • Set alarms five minutes before each restricted window.
  • Close or avoid trades as the rules require.
Things to clarify with the firm:
  • Which calendar they use to define high impact.
  • Whether the rule applies to all instruments or only those affected by the currency.
  • Whether holding an existing trade through the window is allowed, or only opening new ones is banned.
  • Whether pending orders filled in the window count.
For EAs, a news filter that reads a calendar file can enforce this automatically, but test it before relying on it.

A single missed alarm costs the challenge fee, so redundancy is worth it.

How do you handle news rules on prop accounts?