Market StructureAskOffer
Ask Price
The price at which the market will sell the base currency to you - the higher of the two quoted prices.
What Ask Price means
The ask, also called the offer, is the price a dealer or liquidity provider is willing to sell the base currency for. It is therefore the price you pay when you buy, and it always sits above the bid. When you open a long position or close an existing short position, you deal at the ask. On most retail platforms it is displayed as the right-hand or upper figure in the quote, and it is the reference used to trigger buy stop orders and sell limit orders resting above the market.
The gap between the ask and the bid is the spread, which is the dealing cost embedded in the quote. Traders should remember that an ask price is only valid for the size shown behind it. In a deep market a large order fills close to the top-of-book ask, but if the resting size is small, part of the order sweeps into higher levels and the average fill is worse than the quoted ask - a form of slippage.
Worked example
With EUR/USD quoted 1.08495 / 1.08505, buying one standard lot costs 108,505 US dollars at the ask, and the one-pip spread is an immediate cost of about 10 US dollars.
Related terms
- Bid PriceThe price at which the market will buy the base currency from you - the lower of the two quoted prices.
- SpreadThe difference between the bid and the ask price, and the most common way a forex broker is paid.
- SlippageThe difference between the price a trader expected on an order and the price at which it was actually executed.
- Order BookThe list of resting buy and sell limit orders at each price level on a trading venue.
- Market OrderAn instruction to buy or sell immediately at the best price currently available in the market.
Frequently asked questions
What does Ask Price mean in forex trading?
The price at which the market will sell the base currency to you - the higher of the two quoted prices.
How does Ask Price work in practice?
The gap between the ask and the bid is the spread, which is the dealing cost embedded in the quote. Traders should remember that an ask price is only valid for the size shown behind it. In a deep market a large order fills close to the top-of-book ask, but if the resting size is small, part of the order sweeps into higher levels and the average fill is worse than the quoted ask - a form of slippage.
What is an example of Ask Price?
With EUR/USD quoted 1.08495 / 1.08505, buying one standard lot costs 108,505 US dollars at the ask, and the one-pip spread is an immediate cost of about 10 US dollars.
Trade with a regulated broker
Understanding the terminology is the cheap part. The expensive part is choosing a counterparty whose execution, financing and withdrawal behaviour match what the marketing implies. Every broker below has been reviewed with a funded live account, and each review states which legal entity and which regulator applies to the account you would actually open.
Check the licence on the regulator's own register before you deposit — our regulators directory explains what each authority enforces, from leverage caps to compensation limits.