Quote
A displayed price showing the current bid and ask for a financial instrument.
A quote is the most recent price at which a financial instrument is available to buy or sell. In forex, a quote shows how much of the quote currency is needed to purchase one unit of the base currency. Quotes consist of two prices: the bid (what buyers will pay) and the ask (what sellers want), with the spread between them representing the cost of entering a trade.
How It Works
- Streamed in real time from liquidity providers to your trading platform
- EUR/USD 1.0850/1.0852 means sell at 1.0850 (bid) or buy at 1.0852 (ask)
- First currency is the base; second is the quote currency
- Indicative quotes are approximate and may not be executable; firm quotes can be traded on immediately
Trading Tips
Always look at both bid and ask before placing a trade. The spread is your immediate cost.
Compare quotes across brokers. Differences in pricing add up over many trades.
During high-impact news, quotes can widen dramatically. Avoid market orders when the spread is abnormally wide.
Related Terms
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