Week in Brief
EUR/USD spreads widened from 0.843 to 0.909 pips average across the week, a 7.8% increase, while broker outages hit ThinkMarkets, FXTM, AvaTrade, IC Markets and FOREX.com on various days. XAU/USD showed a data quality issue with Saxo Bank quoting 34 USD, a known parse error, masking a real tightening from 8.68 to 7.044 among the remaining brokers.
Spread Movements by Instrument
EUR/USD
widened- Week range
- 0.843 to 0.91 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- Pepperstone at 0.1 pips, consistent all week
- Notable
- Average widened from 0.843 on Monday to 0.909 by Friday, with Pepperstone holding 0.1 pips every day while XM stayed at 2 pips, the widest gap in the pair.
XAU/USD
tightened- Week range
- 7.044 to 8.68 USD average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.12 USD, consistent all week
- Notable
- Average fell from 8.68 to 7.044 as broker count rose from 4 to 5 on Friday, but Saxo Bank's 34 USD quote each day is a known unit or parse error and should not be read as a real spread.
GBP/USD
stable- Week range
- 1.1 to 1.131 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.1 pips, consistent all week
- Notable
- Average held near 1.13 pips from Tuesday through Friday after starting at 1.1 on Monday, with XM the consistent widest at 2.4 pips.
USD/JPY
stable- Week range
- 1.029 to 1.043 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets at 0.1 to 0.2 pips
- Notable
- BlackBull Markets doubled its own quote from 0.1 to 0.2 pips on Wednesday and Friday, a 100% move flagged as a mover, though the pair average stayed within a narrow 1.029 to 1.043 band.
WTI/USD
widened- Week range
- 0.061 to 1.938 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- BlackBull Markets and Swissquote alternating near 0.05 to 0.07
- Notable
- Broker count swung between 2 and 5 across the week, so the jump from 0.061 to 1.938 is partly a coverage artifact from easyMarkets appearing at 3.0 points on the higher-count days.
US500
tightened- Week range
- 0.533 to 0.7 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IG Group at 0.4 points, consistent all week
- Notable
- Average eased from 0.7 to 0.533 on Friday as broker count dropped from 4 to 3, with IG Group the cheapest every day.
NAS100
tightened- Week range
- 1.55 to 1.95 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 0.8 to 1.3 points
- Notable
- Only 2 to 3 brokers reported daily, and BlackBull Markets widened from 1.3 to 1.8 points, a 38% move, on a thin instrument where averages swing with coverage.
BTC/USD
stable- Week range
- 20 to 22.13 price-points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- Pepperstone and ThinkMarkets at 15
- Notable
- Broker count ranged from 2 to 4 daily, with AvaTrade consistently the dearest near 26, and the mid-week peak of 22.13 coincides with only 3 brokers reporting.
GER40
stable- Week range
- 3.077 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IG Group at 1.4 points, consistent all week
- Notable
- Average held flat at 3.077 points all five days with only 3 brokers reporting, IG Group cheapest and easyMarkets dearest at 4.33 every day.
Broker Spotlight
Pepperstone and BlackBull Markets were the tightest brokers this week, with Pepperstone at 0.1 pips on EUR/USD all five days and BlackBull Markets at 0.1 pips on GBP/USD and USD/JPY. BlackBull Markets led the cheapest-broker tally with 20 of 45 key instrument-days. The widest outlier remains XM at 2 to 2.5 pips on EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY, alongside the Saxo Bank XAU/USD quote of 34 USD, which is a data quality flag rather than a genuine spread.
Market Context
- Federal Reserve seen holding rates while watching inflation risks per Commerzbank, alongside ING noting Fed expectations keep US Dollar upside in focus, a period during which USD/JPY and EUR/USD both saw broker-level spread movement.
To Watch Next Week
- Gold's sharp drop and steadying per FXStreet warrants tracking XAU/USD once Saxo Bank's 34 USD parse error is corrected or removed from feeds.