IG weekend spreads: have I made a mistake? Spreads 20+!

I have recently switched from a broker which I would highly recommend and was happy with, to IG, in order to try different markets. Are these high spreads at weekends normal? I'm just worried that these high spreads might come into effect in evenings when I'm sleeping and theres not much I can do if spread gets to 20+ even for a second....I may just have to go back to my broker with tight spreads and only trade forex.

Comments and thoughts appreciated...

I see Oanda on today(Sunday) aud/usd 4, eur/usd 3.... Even gold is 229. Don't know why it's so high now, anyway you can't buy at the weekend.

this is not the worst ive seen, ive been with other brokers that have had much higher on weekend(40+), i dont remember where i found a site that showed you the max spreads for brokers, and i remmebrr exness had a 80 pip spread as one of the values for a major pair(probably news related) but i thought, damn. I have been pretty happy with pepperstone until the last 4 months they have been slowing increasing spreads ever so slightly on me especially during asia session. Going to go with armada markets moving over to pure ecn and comission base, im sick of this floating spread bs.

Hi Gareth22

I trade IG markets and variability of spread has long been an issue with them. Having traded with them now for over 10 years there have been times with some short timeframe strategies I have regretted using them as with some CFD instruments of light volume, during quiet spells, the spreads can extend horribly.

However, there are some great benefits of using IG and these depend on the approach you use. For example:

1. Proreal time advanced charting have been a godsend to me and the technique I use now as it significantly simplifies managing a comprehensive portfolio. Mt4 using my approach became quite problematic in this area.
2. The guaranteed stops provided by IG can be a saviour on market open and I frequently use them despite the insurance costs written into the spread.
3. The range of instruments you can trade on IG are excellent and diverse which really helps if you are looking for diversification.
4. The excellent news and analysis aspects of the platform.
5. Their size and regulatory compliance framework give me confidence they will not run away with my money.

So you need to weigh the benefits against the costs such as the variable spreads that can be significant. Another pet hate with IG is that no interest is paid on equity held with them. However given that I am now trading trend trading strategies of long term duration in the major popular instruments such as forex, indexes and commodities, they have to remain competetive in the market and the spread commission tends to be much more competetive.

....so you will need to assess the pros and cons with respect to your specific trading approach. IG Markets certainly has great strengths hence its wicked market share but other brokers such as Axitrader survive in the market due to how they niche with respect to this market player. I love Axitrader as well but for different reasons.

Anyway, hope this helps.

C

Thanks, I have looked around and it appears other brokers also have similar spreads during the weekend (fxcm and oanda to name a couple). I have only recently switched to trading the Daily charts so it's something I never really noticed before.

Pro real time charts are incredible, it allows me to look through stocks, indices, forex etc really quickly.

All the best with your trading,