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Spreads
A spread is the difference between the sell and buy price.
IC Markets offers variable spreads on our Meta Trader 4, Meta Trader 5 and cTrader, forex trading platforms. We are able to offer tight spreads in each of our platforms by providing them with Raw Pricing connectivity. Over 25 liquidity sources are pricing into our Network at any given time to ensure our spreads remain tight and liquidity deep 24/7.
Our typical spreads are illustrated below. Spreads can go as low as 0.0 pips* on our MetaTrader and cTrader Raw Spread platforms.
Instrument Specifications are subject to change. The most accurate details are those displayed in your account through the electronic trading system.
Key Information about Spreads
- Spreads are quoted in pips.
- Spreads at IC Markets are variable on both Raw Spread and Standard types of Accounts.
- The Raw Spread Account offers spreads as low as 0.0 pips.
- The Standard Account offers spreads starting from 0.8 pips.
- You may check our spreads by clicking here.
Trade Cost Calculation
To calculate the cost of a trade (excluding swaps and commissions) multiply the spread and pip value by the number of lots traded:
Trade Cost = Spread x Trade Size x Pip Value
For example:
Assuming you’re trading with mini lots which are 10,000 base units. You open a trade that has 0.8 pips spread.
The pip value is at $1, so the transaction cost is $0.80
Commissions
IC Markets applies commissions in Forex and Precious Metals and the rates vary by trading account type.
MetaTrader4 Raw Spread Commission Rates
Account Base Currency
- USD Account
US Dollar - EUR Account
Euro - GBP Account
Pound Sterling
Micro Lot Commission
(0.01 or 1,000 base currency)
- USD 0.035
(USD 0.07 round turn) - EUR 0.0275
(EUR 0.06 round turn) - GBP 0.025
(GBP 0.05 round turn)
Standard Lot Commission
(1 or 100,000 base currency)
- USD 3.50
(USD 7.0 round turn) - EUR 2.75
(EUR 5.5 round turn) - GBP 2.50
(GBP 5.0 round turn)
cTrader Commission Rates
cTrader commission is charged per side, per 100,000 USD traded. This is different to MT4 which charges a fixed amount per lot.
The commission charged on the cTrader platform is $3 USD per 100,000 USD traded. The USD commission amount is converted to the base currency of an account at the current spot rate. An example of the commission calculation on a cTrader account is below.
- Opening Price
- Closing Price
- Total Commission on Trade
Calculation @ $3 USD per 100,000 USD
- €100,000 x 1.3000 = USD $130,000 x (3 / 100,000)
- €100,000 x 1.3100 = USD $131,000 x (3 / 100,000)
Commission on 1 lot EURUSD
- $3.90
- $3.93
- $7.83
Swaps
A forex swap rate or rollover is defined as the overnight interest added or deducted for holding a position open overnight. Swap rates are determined by the overnight interest rate differential between the two currencies involved in the pair and whether the position is long or short.
What You Should Know About Swap Rates
- Swaps are only applied when a trade is kept open overnight through to the beginning of the next trading day
- Certain symbols can have negative swap rates for both buy (long) and sell (short) positions
- Swap rates are either calculated in points or in percentage terms, and our trading platforms automatically convert them into the account base currency
- Swap rates can differ between symbols and the rates shown are per standard lot
- Most of our symbols have triple swap charges on Fridays, while forex pairs and metals have triple swaps on Wednesdays.
Overnight Swap Rates
- You can see the latest swap rates in the MT4/5 or cTrader platforms by following the steps below
- MT4/5 : Right click on any instrument in the 'Market Watch' and then left click on 'Specification', then a pop-up will appear showing symbol information including swap rates
- cTrader : Click on any symbol in the watchlist/all symbols area, on the left side of the screen, then look to the right side of the screen under 'Symbol info'
- You can find the latest updated swap rates here.
How to calculate the cost of swaps
Considering that you wish to keep your position open for 3 nights and the instrument traded is EURUSD then the costs depending on whether you have a long or short position will be as follows:
Swap Cost = (Volume in lots)*(swap rate in points)*(number of nights)
Swap Long:
Current Swap points for going long on EURUSD in MT4 and MT5 is -6.25 points. The swap charge will be equal to 1 lot x (-6.25) x 3 nights = -$18.75
Swap Short:
Current Swap points for going short on EURUSD is 2.56 points. The applied swap will be equal to 1 lot x (+2.56) x 3 nights = +$7.68
How to calculate the profit/loss of your trade
Example:
You have deposited 1,000 USD on your Raw Spread Account and traded 2 lots of EURUSD. Your position is kept open for 3 days.
Account Type: Raw Spread Account
Platform: MT4
Account Base Currency: USD
Trade Size: 2 lots
Leverage: 1:30
Position open for: 3 days
Swap Rate Long in points: -6.25
Swap Rate Short in points: 2.56
Spread (pips)*: 0.1
Commission (USD): 3.5 per lot per side
Spread: The pip value of 1 lot is at $10, so for 2 lots, the pip value will be $20. In this case, if the spread is 0.1 pips, your spread cost will be: 0.1 pip x $20 = $2
*The actual spread in the platform starts from 0.0 pips. For the purpose of this exercise only, we are using 0.1.
In case the EURUSD drops by 10 pips, the gross profit will be 10 pips x $20 per pip = $200
Commission Charges:
You will be charged $3.5 per lot per side.
So, the commission charged for this trade = 2lots x $3.5 x 2(open and close)
Total commission charges = $14
Swap Charges:
Swap Long:
Current Swap points for going long on EURUSD in MT4 and MT5 is -6.25 points. The swap charge will be equal to 2 lots x (-6.25) x 3 nights = -$37.50
Swap Short:
Current Swap points for going short on EURUSD is 2.56 points. The applied swap will be equal to 2 lots x (+2.56) x 3 nights = +$15.36
So, the total trading costs in the above example, for both cases (long and short position) is shown below:
| Position | Symbol | Volume in lots | Spread in pips | Spread Cost in USD | Commission in USD | Swap charges (for 3 nights) in USD | Profit/Loss (generated from the movement of price in pips) | Net Profit | Total Cost in USD | % cost on return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | EUR/USD | 2.00 | 0.10 | -2.00 | -14.00 | -37.50 | $200.00 | $146.50 | $53.50 | 26.75 |
| Long | EUR/USD | 2.00 | 0.10 | -2.00 | -14.00 | 15.36 | -$200.00 | -$199.64 | $0.64 | 0.32 |
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