Week of 21 to 25 September 2026·Published
Week in Brief
EUR/USD spreads widened from 0.879 to 0.921 pips average this week, tracking a broader widening across majors including GBP/USD (1.049 to 1.104) and USD/JPY (0.959 to 1.013). IC Markets was cheapest on EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY every single day. Wednesday 23 September saw a broad uptick across nearly every instrument before most eased back by Friday.
Spread Movements by Instrument
EUR/USD
widened- Week range
- 0.879 to 0.931 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.01 pips, every day
- Notable
- Average jumped from 0.879 on Monday and Tuesday to 0.931 on Wednesday, then settled at 0.921 by Friday, while IC Markets held 0.01 all week and XM stayed dearest at 2 pips.
GBP/USD
widened- Week range
- 1.049 to 1.104 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.04 pips, every day
- Notable
- Average rose from 1.049 early week to 1.104 by Wednesday and Friday, a wider move than EUR/USD saw over the same days.
USD/JPY
widened- Week range
- 0.959 to 1.023 pips average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.03 pips, every day
- Notable
- Average widened from 0.959 to a Wednesday peak of 1.023 before easing to 1.013 by Friday, moving in step with EUR/USD and GBP/USD.
XAU/USD
widened- Week range
- 0.194 to 0.251 USD average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IC Markets at 0.09 USD, every day
- Notable
- Average rose from 0.194 to 0.251 on Wednesday and stayed elevated at 0.249 on Friday, with Swissquote dearest at 0.635 on both those days, up from IG Group's 0.3 earlier in the week. Coverage sat at 7 to 8 brokers, below the 9 to 10 seen on FX pairs.
GER40
widened- Week range
- 2.27 to 2.77 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 0.7 points, every day
- Notable
- Average spiked to 2.77 on Thursday, the week's high, with BlackBull Markets dearest at 9.5 points that day versus 5.5 to 7.5 on other days.
NAS100
widened- Week range
- 1.202 to 1.301 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 0.8 points, every day
- Notable
- Average moved from 1.202 to 1.301 on Wednesday and Friday. Coverage was only 4 to 5 brokers all week, making this a thin instrument.
US500
stable- Week range
- 0.574 to 0.587 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- IG Group at 0.4 points, every day
- Notable
- Average held in a narrow 0.574 to 0.587 band all week, the tightest range of any key instrument tracked.
WTI/USD
stable- Week range
- 3.829 to 3.925 points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- ThinkMarkets at 2 points, every day
- Notable
- Average alternated between 3.829 and 3.925 on a two-day cycle, with ThinkMarkets and easyMarkets unchanged as cheapest and dearest all week.
BTC/USD
tightened- Week range
- 22.168 to 23.671 price-points average across brokers
- Cheapest
- Pepperstone at 10 points, every day
- Notable
- Average tightened from 23.671 on Monday to 22.168 from Tuesday onward and held there. Coverage dropped from 7 to 6 brokers after Monday.
Broker Spotlight
IC Markets was the tightest broker on EUR/USD (0.01 pips), GBP/USD (0.04 pips) and USD/JPY (0.03 pips) every day this week, and led the cheapest-broker tally with 20 of 45 instrument-days. ThinkMarkets followed with 15, cheapest on GER40 (0.7 points), NAS100 (0.8 points) and WTI/USD (2 points) all week. At the other end, XM was dearest on EUR/USD (2 pips), GBP/USD (2.4 pips) and USD/JPY (2.5 pips) every day, and BlackBull Markets was dearest on GER40, peaking at 9.5 points on Thursday.
Market Context
- Euro set for third weekly decline as hawkish Federal Reserve outlook weighs, EUR/USD average spread widened from 0.879 to 0.931 pips through the week.
- US Dollar strength tied to yield support per OCBC and ING, coinciding with widening across EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY through Wednesday.
- Gold found support Friday as Dollar and yields eased, though a weekly loss was still in sight, XAU/USD average spread stayed elevated at 0.249 USD versus 0.194 early week.
- Japanese Yen described as range-bound with intervention risk looming, USD/JPY average spread widened from 0.959 to a Wednesday peak of 1.023.
To Watch Next Week
- Fed policy commentary continuing to reference yields, watch EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY for further spread widening.
- Gold's weekly loss narrative with Dollar and yields easing Friday, watch XAU/USD spreads for a possible reversal from the 0.249 USD level.
- RBA hike expectations and AUD/USD commentary this week, though AUD/USD spread data was not included in this pack, worth adding to next week's key instrument list if coverage allows.