【Column】On the Day of Economic Indicators, Should EA Be Stopped — How to Handle CPI and Employment Statistics
Tomorrow is the long-awaited release day for the U.S. CPI. On days of such important indicators, people often ask,Should I stop the EA? Or should I keep it running?Today, I will整理 what happens in the market at indicator releases, the decision to stop or run, andhow to automatically avoid it.
When highly watched indicators like CPI or employment data are released, the minutes to tens of minutes around the release see completely different behavior from usual.
- Spread sudden widening― Sometimes several times to tens of times wider than usual
- Slippage― Fills not at the intended price, slippage to unfavorable prices
- Upper and lower wicks, wild swings― Prices swing back and forth in an instant, only stops get hit
- Direction not decided― Right after the release, buyers and sellers clash
In short,the logic built for normal markets tends to behave in unexpected waysduring these time periods. In particular, averaging-down types face the risk of rapidly increasing open positions and growing unrealized losses.
Drawbacks：Missed profits / easy to forget to stop or to reverseStopping/undoing may occur.
Drawbacks：Risk of large losses from rapid changes / runaway averaging
There is no single correct answer.EA Type(scalping or day trading, presence of averaging) andimportance of the indicatoraffect the choice. However, manual stopping has the inherent weakness offorgetting to stop or forgetting to revert.
This is where an EA can help itself with anEconomic Indicator Filter. It is a mechanism that automatically skips new entries just before and after important indicators. A major advantage is that it prevents manual forgetfulness.
My EAs (such as Shoukinryu) also incorporate this idea. Before and after announcements, the filter activates to refrain from new entries, and normal operation resumes after the storm passes — not by me stopping manually every time,but by letting the system do it. I believe this is one of the answers for long-term, stable operation.
- Understand the importance of indicators― Pay particular attention to CPI, employment statistics, and FOMC (★3 level)
- Know the release time in advance― Just knowing when and what time something will happen helps you prepare
- Be light during high-impact moments― Reduce lot size or positions, or skip new entries
- Use filter functions― As a safeguard against forgetting to stop; rely on the mechanism
- Don’t chase aggressively― It’s better to ride out a single rapid change than to collapse from chasing
Also, to know the release time, there is a free indicator that shows the economic indicator release times on the chart with a starFree indicator “Economic Indicator Display Indicator”Also distributed. It color-codes importance and shows details on hover (works for all 10 currencies). You can access it via the button at the end of the article.
- Around indicator releases,spreads widen, slippage occur, and wild swingshappen
- Decide “Stop / Run” based on EA type and indicator importance (no single correct answer)
- Manual weakness isforgetting to stop / forgetting to revert.Economic Indicator Filterlets the system handle it
- Know the release time in advance anddon’t chase aggressively
※This article is for information provision and not investment solicitation. The performance results shown are past results and do not guarantee future profits. FX/CFD trading involves risks. Please make investment decisions at your own risk.