Week in Brief
EUR/USD spreads widened from 0.801 pips on 14 Sep to 0.921 pips on 18 Sep, a broker gap driven by a hawkish Fed outlook and Euro weekly losses. Most instruments widened mid-week then eased into Friday, while GER40 stood out with spreads climbing from 2.244 to 2.718 points across the week. BlackBull Markets was cheapest across key instruments 14 times out of 45 instrument-days tracked.
Spread Movements by Instrument
EUR/USD
widened- Week range
- 0.801 to 0.988 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.01 pips on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average widened from 0.801 on 14 Sep to a peak of 0.988 on 15 to 16 Sep, then eased to 0.921 by 18 Sep, while easyMarkets doubled its spread from 0.6 to 1.2 pips.
GBP/USD
widened- Week range
- 1.026 to 1.225 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.04 pips on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average jumped from 1.026 on 14 Sep to 1.225 on 15 Sep before settling at 1.104 by 18 Sep, tracking the same mid-week pattern as EUR/USD.
USD/JPY
widened- Week range
- 0.951 to 1.137 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.03 pips on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average rose from 0.951 on 14 Sep to 1.137 on 15 to 16 Sep, then pulled back to 1.023 by 18 Sep.
XAU/USD
tightened- Week range
- 0.249 to 0.339 USD average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.09 USD on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average fell from a 15 to 16 Sep high of 0.339 to 0.249 by 17 to 18 Sep, with easyMarkets cutting its own spread by 33 percent over the week.
WTI/USD
tightened- Week range
- 3.737 to 4.071 points average across brokers, based on 5 to 8 brokers per day
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 2 points on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average eased from 4.071 on 14 Sep to 3.8 by 18 Sep, though Swissquote cut its spread 50 percent while easyMarkets widened 133 percent, pulling in opposite directions.
US500
tightened- Week range
- 0.55 to 0.636 points average across brokers, based on 7 to 9 brokers per day
- Cheapest
- IG Group at 0.4 points every day this week
- Notable
- Average dropped from 0.636 on 14 Sep to a 0.55 low on 16 Sep before ending at 0.577, with IG Group holding the same 0.4 point spread all five days.
GER40
widened- Week range
- 1.995 to 3.145 points average across brokers, based on 5 to 9 brokers per day
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 0.7 points on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average climbed from 2.244 on 14 Sep to a 3.145 peak on 16 Sep before dropping to 1.995 on 17 Sep, a swing that coincides with broker count rising from 5 to 9.
NAS100
tightened- Week range
- 1.251 to 1.864 points average across brokers, based on only 3 to 5 brokers per day
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 0.8 points on 14, 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- This instrument runs on 3 to 5 brokers a day, below the 3-broker thin threshold on some days, so the drop from 1.864 to 1.301 partly reflects coverage changes, not just price moves.
BTC/USD
tightened- Week range
- 22.002 to 32.667 price-points average across brokers, based on only 3 to 6 brokers per day
- Cheapest
- Pepperstone at 10 points on 17 and 18 Sep
- Notable
- Average fell from a 32.667 peak on 16 Sep to 22.002 on 17 Sep as broker count jumped from 3 to 6, while ThinkMarkets doubled its own spread from 15 to 30 points.
Broker Spotlight
BlackBull Markets was the most frequent cheapest broker this week, topping the tally with 14 of 45 key instrument-days, and posted the tightest single readings on EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, XAU/USD and BTC/USD at various points in the week. XM was consistently the dearest broker across EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY all five days, holding flat at 2, 2.4 and 2.5 pips respectively, the widest outlier of the week.
Market Context
- US Dollar report citing oil driving Dollar upside risks published Friday, alongside WTI/USD average spread easing to 3.8 points by 18 Sep from a 4.071 high on 14 Sep.
To Watch Next Week
- Fed hike expectations building into next week per Nordea, watch EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY spreads for continued widening similar to this week's mid-week pattern