I’m trying to figure out whether IC Markets’ spreads are really that stable during major news events. I keep reading reviews that claim they’re solid, but I’ve also seen traders mention unexpected widening during volatile announcements.
The thing is, I want to understand the real cost impact here. If spreads blow out during news, that could easily wipe out rebates I’m getting from GlobeGain. So I’m trying to separate what’s actually happening with their execution from what’s just marketing talk.
Has anyone here tracked their spreads specifically during news releases like Fed announcements or employment data? How much worse do they get, and does factoring in GlobeGain rebates actually help offset that cost? I’m trying to build a realistic picture before I commit significant volume to them.
Spreads triple on news. Really hurts during NFP.
Rebates don’t cover news slippage easily.
IC Markets widens to 1.5-2.5 pips on major news depending on the pair. EUR/USD is worst. The rebate helps but doesn’t fully offset the cost spike. I tested this by tracking 30 news events last quarter. Better approach is to trade the pairs and times where they keep tighter control. Check their execution history during economic calendar events before you decide.
Most brokers widen spreads during news. IC Markets isn’t unique here. What matters is how quickly they normalize. I’ve found they recover faster than Pepperstone but slower than FP Markets. If you’re scalping news events, this broker won’t be your best choice. But for swing trading around news, the impact is manageable with proper position sizing.
I’ve been using IC Markets for about 18 months now. During news events, yes, spreads definitely widen. I’ve seen EUR/USD go from 0.8 pips to nearly 2 pips during Fed decisions.
The GlobeGain rebates do help offset some of that, but they don’t completely cancel out the news spike cost. My strategy now is to simply avoid trading during the first 30 seconds of major announcements and let spreads settle. Works pretty well.
I track my trading costs pretty carefully, and I can say that IC Markets handles most news events reasonably well compared to some other brokers I’ve used. The key is that their spreads are tight normally, so even when they widen during announcements, the total cost is still competitive, especially with rebates applied.
They widen like every other broker. Some pairs worse than others.
Tested this pretty thoroughly last year. IC Markets spreads on EUR/USD during NFP typically jump to 2-3 pips, which is actually in the middle range compared to other ECN brokers. The execution speed is fast, so you at least get filled quickly without much slippage added on top.
With GlobeGain rebates, I’m getting about 0.4-0.5 pips back per side on average. So the real cost during news is maybe 1.5-2 pips total after rebates. Not great, but I’ve seen worse. The trick is position sizing—I just reduce my lot size during news windows to keep the actual dollar impact the same.
I actually prefer trading IC Markets during news over smaller brokers because at least the liquidity is there. Spreads widen, sure, but you don’t get the execution delays that hurt more than the spread itself. Just plan around it and you’ll be fine.