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ANTARESDividend Builder

Lesson 2 · Beginner · 5 min

Quotes: Bid, Ask and spread

How to read prices in the terminal, why there are two of them and what it costs to open a trade.

Two prices

Every instrument in the terminal has two prices. Bid is the price at which you sell. Ask is the price at which you buy. Ask is always slightly higher than Bid.

Example

EUR/USD: Bid 1.08500, Ask 1.08512. A buy opens at 1.08512 and can be closed at the current Bid.

The spread is the cost of entry

The difference between Ask and Bid is the spread. Right after opening, a position shows a small minus equal to the spread — this is normal. The more popular the instrument, the lower the spread.

Spreads widen during low liquidity: at night, before weekends and in the first seconds after major news.

Currency pairs

In EUR/USD the first currency is the base and the second is the quote. A price of 1.085 means one euro costs 1.085 dollars. Buying the pair means buying euros with dollars.

Key takeaways

  • Buy at Ask, sell at Bid
  • The spread is the cost of opening a trade
  • Spreads can widen before news