Can I trade during news events? (Explaining straddling restrictions)

Can I trade during news events? (Straddling restrictions explained)

Yes, you can trade around news events — but certain strategies designed to exploit price gaps or volatility during announcements are strictly prohibited.

❌ What Is Not Allowed

OFP considers the following “straddling” behaviors as Prohibited Strategies:

• Opening opposite positions (long & short) right before or during a news release to guarantee a profit regardless of direction.

• Placing multiple pending orders on both sides of the market before news with the intention of catching a price spike.

• Exploiting delayed feeds, slippage, or spread widening around news times.

• Coordinating trades across multiple accounts to amplify news-driven gains.

✅ What Is Allowed

• Trading during news events with a normal strategy (trend-following, breakout, reversal, etc.) is permitted.

• Using proper risk management (reasonable lot sizes, stop losses) is always expected.

• If you take a directional view and manage risk correctly, your trades are valid — even if they coincide with a news release.

⚠️ Why This Rule Exists

• News events create extreme volatility, spreads widen, and prices may gap.

• Straddling artificially removes risk and can abuse the evaluation model, which is why it is not allowed.

• To ensure fairness, OFP only prohibits abusive “sure-win” tactics, not genuine trading strategies.