What are requotes and why do they happen?

On Forex you can encounter requotes – a phenomenon that may prevent you from entering a trade at a specific price. In this article, we will learn what requotes are, why they occur, and how to avoid them.

Requotes are an unpleasant phenomenon that occurs when a trader tries to open or close a trade at an outdated price. For example, a trader wants to open a buy trade at the price of 1.42667. However, after a second or half a second, while the order was being executed, the price changed to 1.42670. In this case the order will not be executed. The trading platform will issue a warning that the indicated price is not up to date and ask if the trader wants to open a trade at a new price.

Requotes are one of the main disadvantages of Instant Execution. In this type of execution the client must choose not only the volume, but also the exact opening and closing prices.

Requotes often cause large losses during periods of high volatility on the market, when the price can rapidly change against the trader. Since the exact price specified in the order is required to close the position, the trader may encounter numerous requotes. Each time they try to close the position, the terminal will display a notice about requotes due to the rapidly changing price.

How to avoid requotes while trading?

To avoid requotes, first of all, you need to trade on accounts with Market Execution. The client only chooses the trade volume with Market Execution. Positions are opened and closed at current prices. However, bear in mind that the execution time of orders with Market Execution is higher than that of Instant Execution.

If you still prefer Instant Execution, use pending orders to open new trades. The pending order will be executed without requotes as soon as the chart reaches the order price. To close active positions, use the Stop Loss and Take Profit orders. The terminal will automatically close a position upon reaching a price that corresponds to the indicated Stop Loss or Take Profit levels. More information about Stop Loss and Take Profit orders you can find in the article "What are Stop Loss (S/L) and Take Profit (T/P)?"

You should not trade before the publication of economic news, since during these periods the volatility of trading instruments increases significantly. Due to the dynamic changes, the price of quotes can jump over the Stop Loss level by tens of points. In this case, the amount of losses will be higher than the trader expected.

Requotes are common on Forex. It's hard to avoid them during periods of high volatility of a trading instrument. However, you shouldn't be afraid that they will entail large losses. In a calm market, requotes are quite rare. Choosing the correct time to enter and exit the market, as well as the correct use of stop orders will help you minimize potential losses.