Breakout News
- Experts
- Version: 1.1
- Updated: 26 June 2026
- Activations: 5
Breakout News EA is an automated scalping Expert Advisor for MetaTrader 5 specifically designed to capitalise on price volatility during scheduled high-impact news events. Unlike traditional breakout systems, this EA places both a Buy Stop and a Sell Stop order around the pre-news range, allowing it to catch directional moves immediately after the release. The EA is built for single‑pair trading with a strong focus on dynamic risk management, trailing stops, broker integrity monitoring, and daily protection mechanisms.
The system uses a manual news schedule – you specify exact event times (e.g., 13:30,14:00,15:30 ) and a time window around each event. During that window, the EA scans the last N bars (default 10) to determine the highest high and lowest low, then places stop‑orders at a configurable distance above/below that range. Once one order fills, the opposite pending order is automatically cancelled, ensuring only one direction is taken per news event.
This EA is ideal for traders who want a disciplined, rules‑based approach to trading news releases without emotional interference. It combines simplicity (only two pending orders per event) with sophisticated protection features, making it suitable for both novice and experienced traders.
Core Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| News Breakout Mode | Places Buy Stop & Sell Stop around the pre‑news high/low range with ATR‑based SL/TP. |
| Manual News Schedule | User‑defined news times (HH:MM) and avoidance window (minutes before/after). |
| Dual Pending Orders | Only one Buy Stop and one Sell Stop active at a time; opposite order cancelled on fill. |
| ATR‑Based SL/TP | Stop‑loss and take‑profit dynamically sized using ATR multipliers (default 1.5× / 2.0×). |
| Trailing Stop | Two modes: Static (fixed pips) or ATR‑Dynamic (adapts to volatility). Active in backtest. |
| Daily Protection | Daily profit target, daily loss limit, consecutive loss limit, and drawdown circuit breaker. |
| Broker Spy | Monitors average slippage and spread to detect broker irregularities. |
| Time Filter | Optionally restrict trading to specific hours of the day. |
| Spread Management | Dynamic spread limits based on ATR or fixed pips; rejects trades when spread exceeds threshold. |
| Position Sizing | Fixed lot, static compounding, or adaptive ATR‑based compounding. |
| Currency Converter | Automatic exchange rate detection for multi‑currency accounts. |
| Notifications | Mobile push and email alerts for news events, target/loss hits, and circuit breaker triggers. |
News Breakout Logic
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News Window Detection – The EA checks the current time against your ManualNewsTimes list (comma‑separated). If the current minute is within NewsAvoidMinutes of any listed time, news mode is activated.
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Range Calculation – During an active news window, the EA fetches the highest high and lowest low from the last NewsBreakoutBars bars on the selected TradeTimeframe .
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Pending Order Placement – It places:
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Buy Stop at High + NewsBreakoutDistancePips with SL = BuyStop - (ATR × SL_Multiplier) and TP = BuyStop + (ATR × TP_Multiplier)
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Sell Stop at Low - NewsBreakoutDistancePips with SL = SellStop + (ATR × SL_Multiplier) and TP = SellStop - (ATR × TP_Multiplier)
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Order Management – If either pending order is filled, the opposite pending order is immediately cancelled to avoid double exposure.
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Post‑News Cleanup – When the news window ends, all remaining pending orders are deleted to avoid hanging orders.
Manual News Schedule
The EA uses a manual schedule rather than an economic calendar, giving you full control over which events to trade. You provide a comma‑separated list of times in HH:MM format (24‑hour). A time window ( NewsAvoidMinutes ) defines how many minutes before and after each event are considered “news‑active”. This allows you to tailor trading to specific releases (e.g., NFP, FOMC, CPI).
Example:
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ManualNewsTimes = "13:30,14:00,15:30"
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NewsAvoidMinutes = 15 → active windows: 13:15‑13:45, 13:45‑14:15, 15:15‑15:45
Trailing Stop System
The EA supports two trailing modes, and trailing is now fully active in backtest (the previous tester‑skip logic has been removed).
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TRAILING_STATIC
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Activation: profit reaches TrailingStart pips
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Step: TrailingStep pips (SL moves by this amount)
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TRAILING_ATR_DYNAMIC
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Activation: ATR × TrailATRMultiplierStart
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Step: ATR × TrailATRMultiplierStep
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Adapts to market volatility – wider trails in high volatility, tighter in low.
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The trailing stop only moves in the direction of trade (tightens SL, never loosens) and is applied to all positions with the EA’s magic number.
Risk Management Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily Target | Stops new trades and closes all positions when daily profit reaches DailyTargetPercent . |
| Daily Loss Limit | Closes all positions and halts trading when daily loss exceeds MaxDailyLossPercent . |
| Circuit Breaker | Activates if drawdown from peak equity exceeds MaxDrawdownPercent ; closes all positions and stops further trading. |
| Consecutive Loss Limit | Pauses trading after MaxConsecutiveLosses losing trades in a row. |
| Spread Protection | Rejects trades if spread exceeds dynamic (ATR‑based) or fixed pips limit. |
| Margin Check | Verifies available margin before placing any order. |
| Slippage Tolerance | Configurable slippage (default 30 points) to avoid excessive deviation. |
| Position Limits | MaxConcurrentPositions ensures only one position at a time (news mode respects this). |
Broker Spy
The Broker Spy module monitors slippage and spread to detect broker irregularities:
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Tracks average slippage over the last BrokerSpyPeriod trades.
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If average slippage exceeds MaxAllowedSlippage , trading is halted.
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Also checks a recent 5‑trade spike in slippage; if it exceeds 1.5× the max allowed, trading stops.
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Spread at open is recorded for each trade to monitor broker spread consistency.
This feature provides an extra layer of protection against unfavourable broker execution.
Currency Converter Integration
The EA includes a built‑in currency converter to handle accounts denominated in currencies other than USD:
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Automatic Detection – Reads ACCOUNT_CURRENCY .
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Exchange Rate Discovery – Searches Market Watch for symbols like EURUSD , EURUSDfx , EURUSD.pro , etc., both direct and inverted pairs.
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Caching – Rates are cached and refreshed every 3600 seconds.
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Manual Override – You can set a fixed exchange rate via ManualExchangeRate .
This ensures that compounding and position sizing calculations based on USD‑denominated bases work correctly regardless of your account currency.
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Platform | MetaTrader 5 |
| Minimum Deposit | $100 (cent accounts) / $500 (standard accounts) |
| Recommended TF | M5, M15 (for short‑term breakout) |
| Supported Pairs | All forex, metals, indices, crypto |
| Account Type | Hedge or Netting |
| Broker | Any MT5 broker (ECN recommended for tighter spreads) |
Setup Instructions
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Attach the EA to a single chart (e.g., EURUSD M5). Only one instrument per EA instance.
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Configure News Settings
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Enable UseNewsBreakout .
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Set ManualNewsTimes with your desired event times (comma‑separated, HH:MM).
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Adjust NewsBreakoutBars (default 10) for range calculation.
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Set NewsBreakoutDistancePips (default 2) and SL/TP multipliers.
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Set Risk & Money Management
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Choose UseFixedLot or auto‑compounding ( AutoCompoundMode ).
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For dynamic SL/TP, enable UseDynamicSLTP and adjust ATR multipliers.
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Set RiskPercent or use compounding based on CompoundingBalanceBase .
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Configure Trailing Stop
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Select TrailingMode (Static or ATR‑Dynamic).
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Set activation and step values (pips or ATR multipliers).
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Ensure UseTrailing is true .
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Define Daily & Drawdown Protection
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Set UseDailyTarget , DailyTargetPercent , MaxDailyLossPercent .
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Set MaxConsecutiveLosses and MaxDrawdownPercent .
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Optional Filters
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Enable UseTimeFilter to restrict trading hours.
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Enable UseBrokerSpy to monitor broker execution.
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Configure notifications (mobile/email).
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Test on Demo – Always run extensive backtesting and forward testing on a demo account before live deployment.
Important Notes
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Single‑Pair Operation – One EA instance = one trading instrument. Use separate charts for multiple pairs.
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No Hedging – Only one direction (BUY or SELL) is taken per news event; the opposite order is cancelled upon fill.
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Pending Order Exclusivity – At most one Buy Stop and one Sell Stop are maintained simultaneously.
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Trailing Active in Backtest – The EA now applies trailing stop logic even in the Strategy Tester.
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News Times are Manual – The EA does not use an external economic calendar; you must enter event times manually.
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ATR Caching – ATR values are cached for performance; indicators are refreshed on new bars.
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Spread Checking – Dynamic spread limits reduce trading in volatile conditions.
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Currency Conversion – Handles accounts in EUR, GBP, JPY, etc., automatically.
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Manual Exchange Rate – If automatic detection fails, you can set a fixed rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the minimum deposit?
A: $100 for cent accounts, $500 for standard accounts. Risk settings can be adjusted accordingly.
Q: Which timeframe should I use?
A: M5 or M15 for short‑term breakout scalping. Higher timeframes may produce wider ranges.
Q: How are SL and TP calculated?
A: They are based on the current ATR value multiplied by NewsBreakoutSLMultiplier and NewsBreakoutTPMultiplier (defaults 1.5× and 2.0×). You can also use UseDynamicSLTP for separate risk/reward ratios.
Q: Can I use this EA with multiple news events in a day?
A: Yes – simply list all desired times in ManualNewsTimes (e.g., "13:30,15:00,18:00" ). The EA will activate for each event window.
Q: Does this EA work with crypto or indices?
A: Yes, as long as the symbol is available and point/pip sizes are correctly detected (the EA adjusts for instruments with different digit counts).
Q: What happens if both pending orders are filled?
A: This is prevented – as soon as one fills, the other is cancelled via the OnTradeTransaction handler.
Q: How does trailing stop work in backtest?
A: Trailing is now fully active in the Strategy Tester (the earlier if(g_isTester) return; line was removed).
Q: Why is my pending order not placed during news time?
A: Check if the spread is too high, margin is insufficient, or the entry level is too far from current price (the EA filters levels >100 pips away to avoid unrealistic orders).
Q: How does the currency converter help?
A: It ensures that lot size calculations and compounding work correctly regardless of your account currency (e.g., EUR, GBP, JPY) by converting USD‑based base amounts to the account currency.
Disclaimer
Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and indices carries a high level of risk. You may lose all of your invested capital.
Breakout News EA is a trading tool and does not guarantee profits. Users are advised to:
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Perform backtesting and forward testing on demo accounts
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Apply appropriate risk management strategies
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Understand the system’s functionality before live trading
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Avoid using emergency funds or borrowed capital
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Settings should be adjusted to current market conditions and broker execution quality. By using this product, you acknowledge and accept these risks.
