news trading - is it still profitable for retail in 2026?

[dreamchaser]

10 years ago retail traders could make decent money news trading - get the data feed, fast execution, ride the spike. now algos read the release within microseconds, brokers widen spreads to insane levels around news, and the 'spike then return' patterns are barely visible.

serious question: anyone here genuinely making money news trading consistently? if yes, what's the angle - waiting for the post-news consolidation? trading the 2nd order moves? something else entirely?

[bluedreams]

the spike trading is dead for retail. completely. but trading the post-news settling period (15-60 mins after release) is still viable. price gets noisy from initial reaction, then a real direction emerges as the market digests. thats where the edge moved.

[ghostknight]

+1. i wait for the first 15-min candle to close after the release. enter on the second candle in the direction of the close if it shows continuation. small targets, tight stops. been profitable doing this for 18 months on NFP and CPI specifically.

[Caleb]

when you say 'noisy' after the spike, what does that actually look like on the chart?

[nathanx]

picture this: announcement hits, price spikes 30 pips in 5 seconds, drops 40 pips in next 30 seconds, spikes back 25 pips in 2 minutes. wicks everywhere, no clean candles. trading that chaos is impossible. waiting 15-30 minutes, the noise dies and a clean direction shows up. thats your tradeable signal.

[Nathaniel]

the news has already moved by the time your brokers feed updates. you're trading yesterdays move.

[carterw]

thats partly true but missing the point. you're not racing algos at release. youre trading where the market settles. thats a fundamentally different game where retail can still play.

[Justin]

another angle: trade major news days but on completely unrelated pairs. when USD gets crazy on NFP, AUDJPY moves cleanly because everyone is distracted with USD pairs. less competition, cleaner setups.

[Trevor]

news days are my favorite trading days now not because of the news itself but because most retail traders sit it out so the post-news hours are cleaner technical trading

[Cody]

post-news yes. spike trading no.