Understanding Bid and Ask Price
A 1-minute lesson from the MarketPro academy, one of 24 in forex basics.
Every forex quote actually shows two prices, not one. Knowing why helps explain how orders get filled and why a new trade often shows a small paper loss the instant it opens.
Every forex quote actually shows two prices, not one. Knowing why helps explain how orders get filled and why a new trade often shows a small paper loss the instant it opens.
Two Sides Of Every Quote
The bid is the price at which you can sell the base currency right now. The ask (sometimes called the offer) is the price at which you can buy it. The ask is always slightly higher than the bid.
Why Two Prices Exist
Liquidity providers and market makers profit from the small gap between what they will pay to buy and what they charge to sell, similar to a currency exchange counter. This gap exists whether you are trading manually or acting on a signal, and it applies before any separate commission is added.
Finish this lesson in the MarketPro app
2 more sections of Understanding Bid and Ask Price, plus all 320 lessons, the quizzes that check each one landed, and the streak that keeps you coming back. All of it is free on any account, including a free one. There is no paywall inside the academy.
Scan with your phone camera to install MarketPro and open this lesson.
Free account, no card. The academy has no paywall inside the app.
Not investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Run the numbers while this is fresh
The arithmetic in this category has a free calculator on this site, no sign-up and nothing leaves your browser: Pip value calculator, Position size calculator, Margin calculator, Leverage calculator.
The whole academy is free in the app
All 320 lessons, 12 guided paths, quizzes and a daily streak. Free on every account, with vetted free signals alongside it.
Not investment advice. Past performance is not indicative of future results.