Saturday, May 19, 2007

On Forex PIPs and Brokers

PIP is simply Price Interest Points. In the Forex market, currencies are always priced in pairs. The quoted price is the level where we, acting as the market maker, are willing to buy/sell the currency pair. In the wholesale market, currencies are quoted out to four decimal places, with the last placeholder called a point or a pip. A pip in most currencies is one /10,000th of an exchange rate (in USD/JPY, it is one /100th, likewise you can find for others).

Let’s see some more information about Spread. As with all financial products, Forex quotes include terms like 'bid' and 'ask”'. The 'bid', in its simplest terms is the price at which a dealer is willing to buy (and clients can sell) the base currency in exchange for the counter currency. The 'ask' is the price at which dealer will sell (and clients can buy) the base currency in exchange for the counter currency. The difference between the bid and the ask price is referred to as the spread. The spread defines the trader’s cost, which can be recovered with a favorable currency move in the market. The value of a pip is determined by the pair of currencies being traded, the rate at which the currency pair is trading and the size of the position being traded.

There are many great Forex brokers, and most of them maintain tight, competitive spreads in the four major currencies against the Dollar, and a total of 17 currency pairs including USD/CAD and AUD/USD. Some of the major features almost all brokers are:

  • Real-time streaming prices
  • Price certainty on market orders
  • Competitive pricing
  • Fixed 3-5 pip spreads

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