Unrealized Gain/Loss
a.k.a. Unrealized P&L, Floating P&L, Paper profit, Paper loss
The profit or loss on a trade that's still open, which only becomes real when you close it.
An unrealized gain or loss is money on paper. If you bought EUR/USD and it has risen 40 pips, you have an unrealized gain. Close the trade and it becomes realized, locked into your balance. Leave it open and it can grow, shrink or flip to a loss.
Brokers still count it toward your account equity and margin, through mark-to-market. That is why a big unrealized loss can trigger a margin call even though you have not "taken" the loss yet.
Telling yourself an unrealized loss "isn't real until I close it". Your margin, and your broker, treat it as very real.
Keep this word for good
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