In this article we’ll cover all things swap-related:
What is swap?
Swap is the interest that is applied to all positions that are left open overnight for the following trading day. It is credited to or withdrawn from trading accounts at 22:00 GMT+0 each day until the position is closed (according to the following schedule):
| Day | Time | Swap size |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 22:00 GMT+0 | Standard |
| Tuesday | 22:00 GMT+0 | Standard |
| Wednesday | 22:00 GMT+0 | Triple |
| Thursday | 22:00 GMT+0 | Standard |
| Friday | 22:00 GMT+0 | Standard |
| Saturday | Not applied | Not applied |
| Sunday | Not applied | Not applied |
Swap is charged every day, except for the weekends, when trading is not available. That is why on Wednesdays*, swap is charged at a triple rate in order to compensate for the following weekend, during which swap is not charged.
*Triple swap is applied on Fridays for Energies.
Do note that charged swap on instruments in the Cryptocurrencies and Stocks group is zero.
Swap can either be long or short depending on whether you open a Buy or a Sell position, with swap charged as “swap long” or “swap short” respectively. Swap can also either be negative or positive - check our contract specifications for more information on your preferred trading instrument.
How to calculate swap
So, how do you calculate swap for the position you are about to open? Read on to learn how.
Swap calculation formula:
Lots x Contract Size × Pip Size × Swap Short or Swap Long × Number of Days
Let’s say you’ve got a Standard account and opened a Buy position for 1 lot of EURUSDm on Tuesday at 15:00 server time, and closed it on Thursday at 23:00.
Let’s calculate swap for our trade. Here’s how to find all the figures you need:
- Lots
This is the easiest part. Just take a look at your position - 1 lot EURUSDm.
- Contract size
A standard contract size that applies to the majority of Forex trading instruments is 100,000 units of the base currency. In the case of EURUSD, where EUR is the base currency, the contract size is 100,000 EUR.
- Pip size
Pip size for the majority of Forex trading instruments is 0.0001. EURUSD is no exception to that rule.
- Swap short/ long
Since we have a Buy position, we’ll need the swap long rate for calculation. Let’s check our Contract specifications: -0.86852**.
**You could see a different value based on the current rates. Swap rates are not fixed.
- Number of days
Our position was held overnight from Tuesday until Thursday night at 11:00 p.m. Let us look at the charges that will be made:
- Tuesday 10:00 p.m.- 1 charge
- Wednesday 10:00 p.m.- 3 charges***
- Thursday 10:00 p.m.- 1 charge
***Each weekday is considered to have one single charge and there are 3 charges on Wednesday night.
So in our calculation, we’ll charge swaps for a total of 5 days.
Now that we have all the figures we need, we can put them into the formula:
Swap = Lots x Contract Size x Pip Size x Swap Short or Swap Long x Number of Days
Swap = 1 x 100,000 x 0.0001 x (-0.86852) x 5 = -43.42 USD
This is the total amount of swap that will be deducted from your account.
You can always refer to our Investment Calculator to calculate the amount of swap that will be applied to your order.
Swap-free accounts
We have created special Swap-Free accounts for residents of Islamic countries who observe Sharia law. On swap-free accounts, no swaps are credited to or withdrawn from the client’s account.
Our automated system identifies which clients are residents of countries where Islam is the predominant religion and flags their accounts as swap-free.
When clients are found to have abused the swap-free status attributed to their accounts, we shall reserve the right to:
- Cancel the swap-free status on all of the client's trading accounts.
- Once the swap-free status is discontinued, swap charges will be applicable for open orders and orders opened in the future.
A notification will be shown in a client’s Personal Area when swap-free status is canceled.
Improper use includes, but is not limited to, situations where a large portion of the transactions on a client's trading account would have been subject to negative swap charges, which were not levied by Exness, in accordance with the swap-free nature of the account.
We provide swap-free Raw Spread and Zero accounts. Standard Cent, Standard, and Pro accounts can also be swap-free.
Swap-free instruments
Swap charged on Cryptocurrencies and Stocks trading instruments is zero. Thus, if you are unable to get a swap-free account based on your country of residence, you may trade on these instruments to ensure there is no swap charged on your account.