Forex Spreads

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What is Spread in Forex? / What does Spread mean?

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Forex is the most traded market in the world offering numerous trading opportunities. One of the ways you pay for these opportunities is through the broker spreads, or the difference between the ask and bid prices of a tradable instrument. When the spread is tight, your trading cost reduces.

Our diverse liquidity mix and partnerships with leading banking and non-banking financial institutions for deep liquidity also plays a key role in ensuring that we consistently deliver tight spreads to our traders, starting as low as 0.0 pips.

Spreads Affect Your Trades

Successful traders always keep track of any changes in the spread, basing trading decisions on such
changes. Spread size plays an important role in trading, especially for scalpers and intraday traders:

High Spreads

When the difference between the ask and bid prices are higher than usual, it could either indicate a period of low liquidity or high market volatility. For instance, non-major forex pairs tend to have a higher spread than major pairs.

What is Spread in Forex?

Spread in Forex is the difference between the bid price and the ask price. The Spread cost is measured in 'pips' and is the cost of trading. Popular currency pairs such as the EUR/GBP and USD/AUD have lower spreads as a result of higher levels of liquidity. An in-depth explanation can be found in our Beginner's Guide To Forex Trading.


Spread in Forex is the difference between the two prices of a currency pair. The Bid is the quote price at which a trader is willing to buy an asset, and the Ask level is the quote price at which a trader is willing to sell an asset. Organised by way of a two-way quote, signify willing buyers and ask prices determine willing sellers. This concept is fundamental for traders to comprehend as they are the primary cost of trading forex and currency pairs.


For instance, if the bid/ask rate for the EUR/USD is 1.1251/1.1252. Here, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quote currency. This means that you can buy the EUR at a higher ask price of 1.1252 and sell it lower at the bid of 1.1251.


The difference between ask and bid price in forex is known as the spread. In the above example, the spread in pips would be (1.1252-1.1251) = 0.0001. The pip value on USD-based pairs is identified on the 4th digit, after the decimal. This means that the final forex spread is 0.1 pips.


To calculate the total spread cost, multiply this pip value by the total number of lots traded. So, if you are trading a EUR/USD trading lot of 10,000. In case you are trading a standard lot (100,000 units of the currency). Now, if your account is denominated in another currency, say GBP, you will need to convert that from US Dollars.


Given the bid and ask prices traders can engage with the market immediately or on the spot. The ask price is slightly higher than the underlying market price, whereas the bid price is slightly below the underlying market price. Traders sell the bid and buy the ask. A narrower bid-ask spread translated to lower trading costs.


The size of the spread plays a pivotal part in forex trading. This is particularly the case for those using trading strategies that conduct a large number of transactions in a single trading session. Trading volume, liquidity, market volatility, news, and time can all have an impact on spreads.


The spread affects profit, given that a currency pair reveals information about market conditions such as time, volatility and liquidity. For instance, emerging currency pairs have a greater spread than major currency pairs. Currency pairs involving major currencies have lower spreads.


Traders should also consider peak trading times for particular currencies. For instance, the cost of trading the New Zealand Dollar (AUD) will be higher during nighttime in New Zealand. This is because there are not as many market participants actively trading at this time. Similarly, other New Zealand financial markets that may influence forex are also closed at this time. A wider currency pair spread means that a trader would pay more when buying and receive less when selling.


High spread usually occurs during periods of low liquidity or high market volatility. For instance, forex pairs that include the Canadian dollar (CAD) will have lower liquidity during overnight hours in Canada. The same applies to exotic currency pairs such as the NZD/MXN which have a significantly lower trading volume.


Low spread in forex is the difference between the bid and the ask price. Traders prefer to place their traders when spreads are low like during the major forex sessions. Spreads are likely to be low when volatility is low and liquidity is high. When there is a bigger difference between the bid price (buy) and the ask price (sell), it means that traders are likely to spend more on wider spreads because of high volatility and lower market liquidity.

Spreads can widen considerably when the financial markets are volatile: a phenomenon known as slippage. It is also important to understand the difference between fixed and variable spreads. Fixed spreads remain the same, no matter what the market conditions are. Variable spreads keep on changing, based on the supply and demand of the instruments and the overall market volatility. Choosing the optimal spread type is important to keeping trading costs to a minimum. Retail traders who trade less frequently could benefit from fixed spreads while those who trade frequently and during peak market hours (when the spreads are the tightest), might prefer variable spreads. Variable spreads tend to be lower than fixed spreads, especially in calmer markets. Explore our wide range of forex account types.

The spread of a given currency pair reveals information about market conditions such as time, volatility and liquidity. Emerging currency pairs have a greater spread than major currency pairs. There are 8 major currencies which account for approximately 85% of the forex market turnover. With more market makers, real-time pricing and higher trade volumes, pairs involving major currencies have lower spreads. In addition, there are peak trading times for particular currencies. For instance, the cost of trading the AUD will be higher when it is night time in New Zealand. This is as there are not as many market participants actively trading at this time. Similarly, other New Zealand financial markets that may influence forex are also closed at this time.

Forex Broker Spreads

Currency spreads are quoted in terms of two different prices: bid and ask price. Bid price is the price at which you can sell the base currency, while ask price is the price at which you can buy the base currency.

For example, if the bid/ask rate for the EUR/USD is 1.1251/1.1252. Here, EUR is the base currency and USD is the quote currency. This means that you can buy the EUR at a higher ask price of 1.1252 and sell it lower at the bid of 1.1251.

To calculate the total spread cost, multiply this pip value by the total number of lots traded. So, if you are trading a EUR/USD trading lot of 10,000

In case you are trading a standard lot (100,000 units of the currency)

Now, if your account is denominated in another currency, say GBP, you will need to convert that from US Dollars.

It is important for forex traders to be familiar with forex spreads, since they represent the primary cost of trading. It is an important parametre to consider when you choose a broker.

If you choose to open and trade with an FP Markets RAW ECN account, you will find some of the lowest spreads in the market. Our liquidity is sourced from some of the largest and best liquidity providers. This gives us the ability to offer you the tightest spreads, starting as low as 0.0 pips during the most liquid times, something that was previously the domain of hedge funds only. You can always check our trading conditions by opening a demo account.

Understanding High and
Low Forex Spreads

It is important to know that FX spreads can fluctuate throughout the day. This is because spreads are influenced by several factors, such as liquidity, volatility and market news. You will see that some major currency pairs like the EUR/USD, GBP/USD or USD/JPY, Which tend to have more liquidity, also have lower spreads than emerging currency pairs such as the USD/INR.

Also, liquidity can decline and spreads can widen in the days or hours leading up to major economic news events and between trading sessions.

Keep an eye on the economic calendar. Releases occur sporadically and depending on whether expectations are met or not, prices can fluctuate rapidly. If you are currently holding a position and the spread widens, you could receive a margin call. Spreads can widen considerably when the financial markets are volatile: a phenomenon known as slippage.

It is also important to understand the difference between fixed and variable spreads. Fixed spreads remain the same, no matter what the market conditions are. Variable spreads keep on changing, based on the supply and demand of the instruments and the overall market volatility.

Choosing the optimal spread type is important to bring down trading costs and is a key part of the trading strategy of any decent trader. While retail traders with smaller accounts, who trade less frequently, could benefit from fixed spreads, those who trade more frequently and during peak market hours (when the spreads are the tightest), might prefer variable spreads. Variable spreads tend to be lower than fixed spreads especially in calmer markets.

Industry Leading Low Forex Spreads

Helix Access provides variable spreads for fast trade execution, with low probability of requotes. Our feed comes from leading international financial institutions for deep liquidity, along with real-time price quotes for different tradable instruments. This allows us to offer forex spreads as low as 0.0 pips on RAW ECN accounts and 1.0 pips on Standard accounts.

Trade Execution Matters

Pricing alone cannot bring results without reliable and fast execution. We offer some of the world’s best trading platforms to facilitate ultra-fast execution speeds. With the help of our advanced charting tools, numerous technical indicators, market news and insights, and real-time price charts, trading becomes an enjoyable and satisfying experience.