Glossary · Trading costsSwap (overnight fee)
Swap is the interest you pay or earn for holding a position past the daily rollover. Rollover falls at 17:00 New York time. The amount comes from the interest rate gap between the two currencies plus the broker's markup, and Wednesday usually counts three nights.
Close a trade the same day and you never see swap. Keep it open overnight and a small charge, or now and then a credit, appears on the position.
The swap fees lesson explains the full mechanics.
When swap is charged
Swap is applied at the daily rollover, 17:00 New York time: 22:00 UTC in winter and 21:00 UTC during New York summer time. That moment closes the New York trading session.
Only positions open at that moment pay or earn it. A trade held for two minutes across the rollover pays a full night; one held for eight hours inside the day pays nothing.
For most forex pairs Wednesday's rollover counts three nights. Spot trades settle two business days later, so Wednesday's settlement spans the weekend. Check the multiplier in your symbol's specification.
A worked example
The rate is illustrative. EUR/USD has a swap long of -6.5 points, and you hold 1 lot on a USD account. Swap per night = swap points × point size × contract size × lots.
That is -6.5 × 0.00001 × 100,000 × 1 = -$6.50 a night, and -$19.50 on Wednesday. A full week of seven nights costs $45.50, which can outweigh the spread and commission on the same trade.
The swap calculator reads broker swap rates and counts the triple night for you.
Questions
Can swap be positive?
Yes. If the currency you hold pays clearly more interest than the one you borrow, the gap can exceed the broker's markup and you are credited.
What is a swap-free account?
It is an account with no overnight interest, often called an Islamic account. Brokers may charge a fixed fee instead after a set number of nights, so read the conditions.
More terms in this chapter
SlippageSlippage is the gap between the price you asked for and the price you got. It happens when the market moves before execution, most often around news, the daily rollover and the weekly open, and it can go for or against you.
Raw spread accountA raw spread account has a near-market spread and charges a commission per lot instead. Brokers call these accounts Raw, Raw Spread, Zero or ECN. Whether one is cheaper depends on the symbol you trade.
Learn it in full
Related terms