Indicators vs. Price Action: Still a Debate?
It's always struck me as odd how much weight some traders put on economic indicators, almost to the exclusion of pure price action. We see the headline numbers come out, $ZARUSD might twitch a bit, $ADA shifts, but often the real move, the sustainable one, started hours or even days before the announcement, or it's a fade on the knee-jerk reaction. Relying solely on CPI, NFP, or GDP to time entries feels like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror. Surely the market has already priced in a significant portion of the expected data. I'm genuinely curious if anyone here still finds a consistent edge trading purely off the immediate indicator release, or if it's more about confirming existing trends or providing a catalyst for levels already identified through technicals. Push back if you think I'm missing something fundamental.
Totally agree. I've found that by the time the headline news drops, the smart money has often already positioned itself, and what we see is the retail crowd reacting. It feels like chasing sometimes.