Trade it now at the going rate:a market order doesn't wait.
An order to buy or sell a currency pair immediately at the best price currently available.
Execution is likely but not assured, and the price is not fixed in advance: the fill can differ from the price shown when the order was sent.
In plain words
A market order is an instruction to buy or sell straight away at the best price currently available. The trader chooses the size and the direction, and the market supplies the price.
See it move
Stage 2 of 3: Best price found
Why it matters
It is the quickest way into or out of a position, and the cost of that speed is uncertainty about the exact price. The fill can differ from the price seen on screen when the order was sent, a difference called slippage, which is most likely in fast or thin markets.
Worked example
An example only. The figures are round and invented for the arithmetic: they are not market prices.
A trader sees an ask of 1.1000 on EUR/USD and sends a market order to buy one standard lot; by the time it is executed the best ask is 1.1002.
- 1Expected price 1.1000, filled at 1.1002
- 2Slippage1.1002 − 1.1000 = 0.0002, or 2 pips
- 3On one standard lot2 × 10 = 20 US dollars
The order was filled at once, 2 pips worse than the price on screen, a difference of 20 US dollars.
A common mistake
The price on screen is not a promise. A market order accepts the price available when it is executed, which can be worse or better than the one displayed a moment earlier.
Check yourself
Educational information, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade.