Contract Suspension Rules in Prop Firms During Volatility Events
During extreme volatility, prop firms sometimes suspend certain futures contracts. When this happens, you can’t open new trades — and in some cases, you can’t hold existing ones. The firms aren’t being dramatic. They suspend markets to stop traders from blowing evaluation accounts through slippage, gaps, or frozen liquidity.
Why Prop Firms Suspend Contracts
Contract suspensions happen when market conditions become too unstable for the firm to justify the risk. The main reasons include:
- Thin liquidity — the order book disappears
- Extreme volatility — huge spikes make stops useless
- Scheduled high-impact events
- Exchange-level warnings
- Technical risk desk alerts
Some events — like CPI, FOMC, or geopolitical shock — can cause spreads to explode. Firms suspend contracts to prevent a flood of accidental violations.
Common Contracts That Get Suspended
Prop firms don’t suspend everything. They usually target the most explosive products:
- Crude Oil (CL)
- Natural Gas (NG)
- Micro Crude / Micro Nat Gas
- Gold (GC)
- Silver (SI)
- Indices during major news — ES/NQ/YM
When these markets get dangerous, they get restricted fast.
How Contract Suspensions Work in Practice
Suspensions happen in two forms:
1. Hard Suspension
You cannot place new trades in the contract. The platform simply rejects orders.
2. Soft Suspension
You can close trades but cannot enter new ones. This is the more common version.
Some firms also require traders to be flat in suspended markets by a specific time.
Volatility Events That Trigger Suspensions
Contract suspensions usually appear during:
- FOMC rate decisions
- CPI / PPI releases
- Unemployment/NFP
- Oil and natural gas inventory reports
- Major geopolitical headlines
- Limit-up / limit-down moves
If liquidity disappears or moves become violent, the risk desk hits the brakes.
How Firms Notify Traders
Firms almost always announce suspensions using:
- email alerts
- dashboard banners
- Discord announcements
- platform restrictions
If you don’t check announcements, you’ll eventually place an order that gets rejected or flagged.
Positions Held Into Suspended Markets
Some firms treat holding positions into a suspended contract the same way they treat news violations — it’s an automatic fail.
Others simply auto-liquidate you before the suspension takes effect.
Suspension Rules vs Trading Halt Rules
Suspensions are firm-level decisions. Halts come from the exchange. If a market goes into an exchange halt, trading stops everywhere. If you want details on that, read your trading halt rules article.
How to Protect Yourself
- Check announcements at the start of every trading day
- Flatten early when volatility spikes
- Don’t hold oil or gas into their inventory reports
- Avoid oversized positions during major news weeks
Suspensions exist to protect you — but if you ignore them, you’ll lose accounts you didn’t need to lose.
Final Takeaway
Contract suspension rules are simple: when volatility gets insane, some markets get turned off. If you place trades anyway or hold positions into suspended events, it’s on you. Know the suspended products, watch announcements, and stay out of trouble.