Spot Rate

Fundamentals

The current market price to exchange one currency for another for near-immediate settlement — the live rate you trade off.

The spot rate is the current market price for exchanging one currency for another, for (near) immediate settlement — typically within two business days (T+2) in the interbank market. It's the rate you see quoted live on any trading platform and the reference point every forward or swap price is built from. Retail forex and CFD trading is priced continuously off the spot rate, with brokers marking it up slightly via the spread.

Related terms

Currency Pair Forward Rate

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After Spot Rate

GuideHow the Options Market Reaches the Spot PriceOption positions have to be hedged, and hedging means trading spot. What that flow is, why it clusters near certain rates, and why almost everything said about it is an estimate.

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