Anyone see that MT4 order prices are different from chart prices?

Hi all,

My broker has a problem with their MT4 chart prices. They recently made a change from fixed spreads to floating spreads. They're still working out all the bugs, and at this moment, I prefer not to name them before I give them a chance to fix the issue (I reported it).

It would help me if others would please perform this simple check (even when the market is closed as it doesn't matter). Does your broker have this problem with New Order (tic) vs. chart prices differing? Or do the prices match as they should?

Look at a GBPJPY chart, preferably M1 timeframe. Then use the command: Charts -> Properties -> Common-tab -> "Show Ask Line" (select to turn on).

Next, either look at the Bid/Ask prices in the MarketWatch window, or pull up a New Order form for GBPJPY.

Compare the Bid and Ask prices between the New Order form (tic) vs. the regular chart. Do both Bid prices match? Do both Ask prices match?

On my attached picture, you notice that the Order Form Bid price is 228.70 but the regular chart Bid price is 228.71 (or 1 pip higher). Similarly, the Order Form Ask price is 228.78, yet the chart Ask price is 228.76 (or 2 pips lower).

When I look at all the other pairs, it seems that sometimes either the Bid or the Ask prices match but never both. The larger the spread, the more likely there is a difference of at least 1 or 2 pips on one or both prices.


Thank you!
Pips4life

P.S.

This 1 pip Bid price difference really messed me up last night. I calculated a 61.8 Fib retracement price on a chart, then I put in a Sell Limit order for that exact price and an initial 26 pip S/L, and a 55 pip trailing S/L. I had no fixed T/P as I had hoped the market was in a total reversal and would keep going down, and I'd wake up massively in profit. (Yeah I know a 55 Trailing S/L isn't big enough for all the typical swings of a big move, but this was a comprimise to at least move me closer to B.E. for the first swing).

However, at the very least, I was pretty confident that fib level would bounce by at least 55 pips or more and my trailing S/L would trim my S/L and put me into profit. Well, the *chart* shows the price hit exactly my fib level to the very pip, and price bounced 81 pips! I should have made +26 minus ~8 spread, or approx. 18 pips with my trailing S/L. Instead, the order didn't trigger before the bounce!!!! Why?? Because of this stupid 1-pip difference between what I calculated vs. what the New Order Bid price was. The next time it came back up to that Fib level, all the "bounce" energy was gone, and of course it opened the order and blew right through it and hit my -26 S/L. At least it was a small position and a relatively small -26 pip loss, but it *should* have been a +18 pip gain!

One final comment: I like making money when I sleep, and I dislike missing gigantic moves that may happen when I sleep or am away... so I'm working on setting up more limit orders at key levels that I think the market will bounce big, or even reverse. But as I'm not always watching the market, I keep these lot sizes smaller, and for better or worse, I'm trying smaller S/L values for this type of action. Still undecided if it's worth it or not... If anyone has any ideas on managing such orders with something more intelligent that a basic trailing S/L and/or fixed T/P levels, I'd love to hear them.

Prices match for all pairs. Here are a couple I checked. Live servers from IBFX-mini and FXDD. I checked several demos and they were all correct. All these brokers were closed when I checked.

Nvwine, thanks for replying with those pictures. My broker is open an extra 30 minutes beyond FXDD and InterbankFX. Price rose in the last 1/2 hour, but as I check back 30 minutes on my chart, I see that the closing Bid for that candle was 228.42, one pip above your two charts. I'll bet yours matches what my New Order (tic) price probably was for that bar.

I think I'm figuring out why there's a discrepancy, or at least I have a guess. The spread on my charts in the last moment was only 5 (228.71/76) whereas the New Order form spread was 8 (228.70/78).

Your spreads were 8 (FXDD) and 9 (InterbankFX) at the time of your market close (4PM EST). Of course, the spreads vary in real-time (for many brokers), but I'm thinking your spreads of 8/9 are fairly common for MT4 brokers. My broker used to have a fixed spread of 8, but now the spread varies real-time.

I think my broker is feeding the charts with their raw, or unpadded, market data. The New Order prices are instead the prices the broker is charging their customers... in other words, padding the spread on either Bid or Ask prices or both. It's all part of the game I suppose, but it's another reason to try to use an ECN broker (but many ECN brokers also charge commissions, which may well be similar in the end result; ECN's probably will probably be a little better pricing though).


It's interesting to compare your FXDD and IntergraphFX tic charts. If you look very closely, there are slightly different peaks from each other, which looks like it could be as much as 2-3 pips difference. The candles too, while similar overall, still show a difference in OHLC prices. Again, I imagine it's the padding which the brokers are adding/subtracting from live market prices, or, the "market" prices vary because the servers are distributed, and there's no one single price throughout the market, rather, the luck of which network happens to have somewhat different buying and selling pressure.

At this moment in time, my broker's prices on the charts are misleading compared to what they actually charge to place an order. Now that I know, (until they "fix" the discrepancy) I guess I'll have to compensate when I place limit orders if I'm shooting for accuracy down to the very pip.

Thanks,
Pips4life

(Additional comments from others are still very welcome)