Spread is a measurement of the difference between a particular trading instrument's current bid and ask prices. The spread value is typically shown in pips, a term used to describe an instrument's price changes.
For example:
- Bid price: 1.11113
- Ask price: 1.11125
The spread would equal to 0.00012 or 1.2 pips.
Spread type
At Exness, we offer trading on instruments with dynamic spreads and stable spreads, but only for certain currency pairs.
Dynamic spread, also known as floating spread, constantly changes. A spread’s value depends on market volatility and may be wider or narrower than average, so these frequent changes are what dynamic refers to.
Stable spread is usually fixed, providing traders with predictable trading costs. It is calculated using the weighted average of the spread and ticks in a certain timeframe. Instruments that offer stable spreads nearly 90% of the time, excluding periods of market volatility, include:
- EURUSD
- XAUUSD
- GBPUSD
- USDJPY
- GBPJPY
- USDCAD
- AUDUSD
- USDCHF
- EURJPY
- EURGBP
Factors affecting spread
The most important factors that affect the spread of an instrument include:
- Market volatility
- News releases
- Unexpected economic events
- Market opening or closing
Other factors include the instrument itself. Majors are often traded in large volumes and have a narrow spread, unlike Exotics, which usually have a wide spread.
It is recommended to watch our Economic calendar for essential news events to anticipate seasons of widened spread.
Checking spread values
There are a couple of ways to check possible spread values, which are listed below.
The spread values on the website are averages for the previous trading day. They can differ from the real-time spread of an instrument on trading platforms.
The average spread displayed is an approximate estimation of the spread of an instrument (in pips). These specifications indicated the average spread from the previous trading day since the maximum spread cannot be determined as the spread is affected by market conditions. It is calculated by studying the spread trends of an instrument over a period of time.
Read why the spread is shown differently on MT4/MT5 and the Exness website.
- Log into your Personal Area (PA).
- Click Trade on any MT5 account, then select Exness Terminal.
- A new tab will open, logging you into Exness Terminal.
- Under Instruments, click the 3 dot icon and toggle Spread from the options shown to view spread.
- Once done, the spread will be displayed in the list of instruments.
Current spread for majors, minors and exotics is displayed only in pips. Current spread for cryptocurrencies, energies, indices, and stocks is displayed in pips and quote currency.
- Log in to MT4.
- Find the Market Watch window.
- Right-click on anywhere in this window, and select Spread from the options listed.
- Now, each instrument will show the exact spread in a new column.
- Log in to MT5.
- Find the Market Watch window.
- Right-click anywhere in this window, and select Columns, then Spread.
- A column in the Market Watch window will show the exact spread for the instruments.