PipWardenWhat is a swap in forex?
Definition A swap in forex is the interest a broker credits or charges for holding a position through the daily rollover, set per symbol and separately for long and short positions.
A swap in forex is the interest your broker credits or charges for holding a position through the daily rollover, which at most brokers is 17:00 New York. The broker sets the rates per symbol and separately for long and short positions, so the swap on the same trade can differ from one broker to the next.
Where MT5 shows the swap
Right-click the symbol in Market Watch and open Specification. The swap lines are (MetaTrader 5 help):
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Swap type | How the rates are expressed: in points, as an amount of the base, margin or deposit currency, as a percentage of the price, or by closing and reopening the position |
| Swap long | The rate for buy positions |
| Swap short | The rate for sell positions |
| Swap rates | A multiplier for each day of the week |
On open positions, the Trade tab (View → Toolbox → Trade) has a Swap column with the amount charged or credited so far. Closed trades show it in the History tab.
The triple swap day
The MT5 help’s own example sets the multiplier to 1 on every weekday except Wednesday, where it is 3. The reason is settlement. Most spot currency trades settle two business days after the trade date (CLS), so a position held through Wednesday’s rollover moves its value date from Friday to Monday, across the weekend. Three days of interest are booked in one night.
The day is set per symbol, so Wednesday is a common case, not a rule. Other symbols at the same broker can use a different day, and the Swap rates line shows which.
A worked example
With the swap type “in points”, the swap is the number of points times the value of a point for your position. On EURUSD quoted with 5 digits, one point is 0.00001, worth $1 per 1.00 lot on a USD account.
The pip value calculator gives the value of a pip, which is 10 points on a 5-digit pair.
The common mistake
Working out the swap on the margin. The swap is charged on the full position, the contract size times the lots, not on the margin the position ties up. With 1.00 lot of EURUSD at 1:30, about €3,333 of margin is locked, but the swap is worked out on 100,000 euros. On trades held for days or weeks it can add up to more than the spread paid to open them.
Swap and PipWarden
PipWarden does not close trades before the rollover. A position still open at the broker’s rollover is charged or paid swap like any other, and each trade’s details in the dashboard show its swap next to its gross profit and commission. A trade held for several days on a symbol with a large negative swap costs more than its spread alone, and the symbol’s Specification in MT5 shows those rates before you add the pair. More on the timing, and on the spreads around it, in why forex spreads widen at rollover.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the swap tripled on Wednesday?
Do I pay swap on a trade I close the same day?
Educational content, not financial advice. Forex and CFDs are traded on margin and are high risk: you can lose money, and more than your deposit with some brokers. Examples use made-up numbers and show no real results. Read the risk disclosure.