Fundamentals
Five order types, and which one buys you a cheaper spread
A market order always fills but gives you no control over price; a limit order lets you pick the entry…
Spread
17 articles in this section.
Trading costs
The cheapest hours to trade: 12:00-15:00 UTC
The average XAU/USD spread during the London session is about 6 cents. The four sessions converted to UTC, and three…
Trading costs
Fixed spreads versus floating spreads
A fixed spread costs more in ordinary hours but does not blow out around news; a floating one is cheaper…
Trading costs
Why almost every spread comparison is wrong
Six reasons a spread comparison reaches the wrong conclusion, and the four-step comparison that works. The most commonly omitted variable…
Fundamentals
Market liquidity and why it changes your costs
Liquidity sets your spread and your slippage. 20:00-22:00 UTC is the thinnest window of the day; 12:30-16:00 UTC is the…
Fundamentals
Why didn't my pending order fill when price touched it?
MT4 charts are drawn from the Bid but buy orders fill on the Ask, so a candle touching your level…
Trading costs
EC Markets rebate: $38 a lot, and what comes with it
The rebate rises by exactly the markup added to the spread — $8 to $18 to $28 with each extra…
Trading costs
Forex trading costs: the complete guide, charge by charge
Spread, commission, swap, slippage, conversion - every component of cost, in the order it arises over the life of a…
Fundamentals
Bid and Ask: the price you actually trade at
You buy at the Ask and are marked to the Bid, so a new position is down by the spread…
Trading costs
Does a rebate make your spread worse?
A rebate sits in the IB commission layer, entirely separate from execution. How to verify your spread in ten minutes,…
Trading costs
Which broker has the lowest spread? The question is always missing half the sum
The tightest spread usually comes with the highest commission. A ranking that compares only spreads compares half the calculation -…
Fundamentals
Majors, crosses and exotics: how the groups differ
Majors have the tightest spreads, crosses are 1.5-3 times wider, exotics can reach 80 pips. And why three different trades…
Trading costs
Vantage: Standard STP or RAW ECN, which is really cheaper
RAW ECN starts from 0.0 pips but pays $1.60/lot; Standard pays $6.12 on EUR/USD. The net-cost calculation comes out the…
Trading costs
What the spread is, and how to read it on the platform
Platforms show the spread in points, not pips: a spread of 12 on EUR/USD is 1.2 pips, roughly $12 per…
Risk management
Slippage and requotes: why the fill differs from the price you saw
Slippage runs in both directions and is normal. It is most dangerous on a stop loss — a position's real…
Trading costs
What one lot of gold actually costs to trade
Convert spread into money, add commission in the same units, and find out why two traders on the same instrument…
Risk management
Spread widening around news: when one lot of gold costs eight times as much
Gold spreads run from 6 cents in London to over 50 cents around a data release. Entering at the wrong…