I'll have to go back and check what the date was but i think it was in the last 2 weeks. I just opened up the 1min chart and started scrolling backwards on tradingview. Those would be hardcore scalpers. If its good data then i imagine it is someone trying to buy too many contracts at once so they blow through the order book which must be a bit thin.
here is a 10 point spike that happened in the ES today. if someone has a broker with a very low margin requirement, they could end up being negative from something like this. being in debt to "the man"...that's why people use prop firms so they don't have to worry about owing more money than they put up. i guess! up to $500 down the drain for real traders. just a reup fee for prop firm traders. keep those stops tight boys. and maybe it won't blow through it too fast and lose you $500. is what i'm thinking.
Yes, your futures account can go negative, and in a bad way. The issue will occur in what they term your NLV, or Net Liquid Value. You can have 10K cash and 10K in a position in your futures account, for a NLV of 20K. Then something very bad can happen in the news, and your position in futures can drop fast and dramatically, where your NLV falls from 20K to below zero. Not every broker will automatically close your positions, and by the end of day, as your position keeps losing value, you could be in the hole for a lot more than you bargained for (more than 20K.) I also find it funnily/ironic that rbigsby chose NG to highlight the issue. NG will fuck you at the drive-thru, yes sir.
i guess that's why they say don't trade around news but i think some "SPIKES" like the one I showed on the ES happen at random unexpected times and maybe for reasons that may not be so clear. i'm still unclear how prop firms deal with something like this on traders with "funded accounts". you never the youtubers talking about these type of things though. it would look bad too. no one would want to sign up using their affiliate link if they thought they could go "negative".