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US online forex broker Forex Capital Markets (NYSE:FXCM), said on Tuesday its spreads for trading in EUR/USD, the most traded currency pair, averaged 0.3 pips during the peak hours in 2015. For non-peak hours, the currency pair’s spreads averaged 0.6 pips last year.
A total of 75% of the EUR/USD orders and volume in 2015 across all FXCM entities were traded during peak trading hours, or in the trading days between 1PM -1AM EST.
The broker published global-scale data for the average spreads in 2015 on its top four currency pairs – EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and AUD/USD. The data was based on the average spreads for standard accounts using FXCM’s no dealing desk execution during the peak and non-peak trading hours throughout 2015.
More information about the 2015 spreads on FXCM’s top four currency pairs follows:
| Spread: | EUR/USD | USD/JPY | GBP/USD | AUD/USD |
| 2015 avg in peak trading hrs* | 0.292 | 0.264 | 0.458 | 0.347 |
– round trip cost per 1K lot | $0.11 | $0.11 | $0.13 | $0.11 |
– round trip cost per 10K lot | $1.10 | $1.10 | $1.30 | $1.10 |
– round trip cost per 100K lot | $11.00 | $11.00 | $13.00 | $11.00 |
| 2015 avg in non-peak trading hrs ** | 0.553 | 0.521 | 1.03 | 0.663 |
– round trip cost per 1K lot | $0.14 | $0.13 | $0.18 | $0.15 |
– round trip cost per 10K lot | $1.40 | $1.30 | $1.80 | $1.50 |
– round trip cost per 100K lot | $14.00 | $13.00 | $18.00 | $15.00 |
| Q3 2015 avg in peak trading hrs | 0.287 | 0.263 | 0.45 | 0.307 |
| Q3 2015 avg in non-peak trading hrs | 0.63 | 0.583 | 1.11 | 0.72 |
| Q4 2015 avg in peak trading hrs | 0.28 | 0.24 | 0.46 | 0.33 |
| Q4 2015 avg in non-peak trading hrs | 0.563 | 0.54 | 1.08 | 0.673 |
*= Peak trading hours defined as 1am EST — 1pm EST from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, excluding weekends
**= Non-Peak trading hours defined as 1pm EST — 1am EST from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015, excluding weekends
For the EUR/USD pair, about 8.3% of the total FXCM orders were executed with a spread of 0.1 pips or less. The broker also provided information about the rest of the currency pairs:
| Spread ≤ 0.1 pip | EUR/USD | USD/JPY | GBP/USD | AUD/USD |
| 2015 | 8.32% | 10.39% | 2.75% | 5.11% |
– round trip cost per 1K lot | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
– round trip cost per 10K lot | $0.90 | $0.90 | $0.90 | $0.90 |
– round trip cost per 100K lot | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 |
| Q3 2015 | 7.12% | 7.59% | 2.88% | 7.15% |
| Q4 2015 | 8.07% | 10.47% | 2.09% | 5.35% |
The data fully confirms the results of a study on the quality of execution for FXCM’s client orders that the broker published about a month ago. According to the study, in the the majority, or 92.19%, of cases, FXCM’s prices were better than the interbank price.
FXCM offers forex, contracts for difference (CFDs), and spread betting services. It offers 40 currency pairs on the Trading Station and MetaTrader 4 (MT4) trading platforms.
The broker is a registered futures commission merchant (FCM) and a retail forex dealer (RFED) with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It has units registered and regulated with the relevant authorities in the US, the UK, Australia, and France.
Spreads indicate the difference between the buying and selling price of a trading instrument. Spreads come in two types – floating, which depend on the market environment, and fixed, which stay unaffected.
Source: FXCM