Bid
a.k.a. Bid price, Sell price
What the market is willing to pay you when you want out. It is always the lower number.
In plain English
The price at which the market will buy from you, so it is the price you get when you sell.
Every forex quote has two prices. The bid is the lower one: what buyers are offering. Sell a pair, or close a long trade, and the bid is what you get.
The higher number is the ask. The gap between the two is the spread, and it is how many brokers get paid.
Worked example
Reading a two-way quote
- EUR/USD shows 1.0848 / 1.0850.
- Bid = 1.0848: sell here.
- Ask = 1.0850: buy here.
Bottom line: Buy and sell instantly and you lose the 2-pip gap.
Don’t be that stickman
Expecting to sell at the price you see on the chart. Many charts plot the bid, but to buy you pay the higher ask.
Keep this word for good
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