I’ve noticed that when major economic news drops—like FOMC announcements, employment data, or central bank decisions—the spreads on most brokers seem to blow up. I’m wondering if HFM is different or if it’s the same story everywhere.
For traders who are active during these events, how much worse do the spreads actually get? Are we talking 2 to 3 times wider than normal? And if you’re using GlobeGain rebates, does that cashback actually offset enough to make those volatile windows tradeable, or is it just too messy to bother?
I ask because I’m thinking about whether to avoid news events entirely or if the rebate system makes it worth trying to trade through them. Real numbers would help.
News spreads go 3 to 5 pips easily. Avoid it honestly.
Rebates don’t cover slippage on bad fills during news.
HFM spreads widen same as everyone else during events.
Volatility spreads depend on the instrument and the broker’s liquidity. On HFM during a major news event, EUR/USD commonly widens from 1.0 to 3.5 or 4 pips. GBP/USD can hit 5 to 7 pips. Minor pairs go even wider.
Rebates on those trades still pay out based on the spread you executed at, so the cashback helps offset some cost. But here’s the reality: the slippage risk and wider entry to exit range means your risk to reward gets worse.
If your strategy needs a 100 pip target to justify a 50 pip stop loss, that math works. But if you’re scalping or using tight stops, the wider spread becomes your enemy and rebates won’t save you.
I tried trading through news events on HFM a few times early on and honestly it cost me more than I made back from rebates. The spreads get so wide that even with the cashback coming back, my exit price was terrible.
Now I just close out positions before major announcements and stay out of the market until things settle. The rebates are nice but they’re not worth the extra risk and emotion that comes with news volatility.
If you’re experienced with that kind of trading, maybe it works. For me, taking that time off is better for my account.
HFM handles news like most brokers do—spreads widen, liquidity gets thinner, and execution gets messier. The rebates do come through but they’re based on what you actually paid, not what the spread was supposed to be.
So if you got a worse fill because of the chaos, the rebate is smaller too. Not a huge help in those situations.
Spreads go from 1 pip to 3 to 4 pips during FOMC announcements.
I trade around news events intentionally and I’ve learned that HFM’s spreads during FOMC or employment data releases typically widen to 2 to 4 pips depending on the pair.
The rebates do offset maybe 20 to 30% of that extra cost, but the real problem is execution quality goes down. You get slipped on entry more often, which kills your risk to reward ratio faster than the rebate can help.
I’ve built a system that profits from that volatility but it required months of testing and position sizing carefully to survive the slippage. Not something I’d recommend for traders just starting out.
One thing I’ve noticed is that HFM’s spread widening during news is actually less extreme than some other brokers during low liquidity periods. But that’s only helpful if you’re comparing them side by side.
For me, the rebates combined with HFM’s relatively tight normal spreads made it worth staying with them instead of switching around. The cashback on 50 to 100 lots a day adds up to meaningful money by month end.