Spread
The difference between the buy (ask) and sell (bid) price; the invisible cost paid upfront on every trade.
The moment a position opens, it starts in the red by the amount of the spread. Spread varies with liquidity, session time and news flow: on major pairs it's tightest during the London/New York overlap and widest at night and around news.
In short-term trading, spread makes up most of the total cost; for a scalper, even a 0.1 pip difference matters. In broker comparisons, the "spread from" figure shows the best-case conditions, and the average spread is more meaningful.
Related terms
Where it appears in the guides
Guides whose text uses this term; most frequent first.
- Piyasa yapıcı davranışı ve spread dinamiğiOrder flow & market microstructure
- Spread, komisyon ve swap maliyetleri nasıl karşılaştırılırBrokers
- Spread, komisyon, swap ve gizli maliyetlerGetting started with trading
- ECN, STP ve market maker farkıBrokers
- Broker seçerken 10 kriterBrokers
- Haber anlarında pozisyon yönetimiFundamental & macro analysis