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うさぎ先生
11/01/2026 17:30
Release： 11/01/2026 17:30
Update： 11/01/2026 17:30
うさぎ先生
Investment style : Trading System
Investment career : More than 10 years
Investment amount : 100,000 - 300,000 JPY
This is Usagi-sensei. Focusing on FX, I develop and validate indicators, trade assist tools, and automated trading EAs for MT5. Currently, I publish MT5 tools that make “market condition checks” and “multi-chart workflows” a bit easier in discretionary trading. When listing products, I strive to verify them in as close to real operating environments as possible, and clearly explain: - what can be done - what cannot be done - in what environments it was verified - what could not be verified I aim to provide tools that are easy to understand and use, not guarantees of profit or future price movements, but rather aids for checks and tasks during trading. If you have any questions about the products, please feel free to contact me.
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Are the chart price and execution price different? Understand Bid and Ask without diagrams

I bought by looking at the price on the chart, but the entry price for the position was slightly different. It was settled just before the price I set for a stop loss. Haven’t you had experiences like this?

The main reason is that FX prices have two types: “selling price” and “buying price.” This time, we will explain the meanings of Bid and Ask in words and numbers without using diagrams.

What Bid and Ask mean

  • Bid: the price used when selling. The price at which a buyer is matched
  • Ask: the price used when buying. The price proposed by the seller

Ask is always higher than or equal to Bid, and the difference is the spread. For example, hypothetically, if USD/JPY is “Bid 150.000 / Ask 150.003,” the spread would be 0.3 pips.

Which price to use for buying or selling

  • Buying new: Ask
  • Selling new: Bid
  • Closing a long position: Bid
  • Closing a short position: Ask

In other words, you enter the position at the Ask and exit at the Bid for a bought position.

Which price is displayed on the chart?

In MT5, by default the chart shows the Bid price line and candlesticks. The Ask line can be displayed by configuring the chart properties.

Therefore, even if the chart’s candlesticks appear to touch the entry price for a buying order, the price used by the buy order is Ask, so there can be a slight misalignment visually.

There can be differences in the price at which a stop loss is triggered

Consider a hypothetical example.

  • For a long position (entry price 150.003) with a stop loss set at 149.800: the position is settled when Bid reaches 149.800
  • For a short position (entry price 150.000) with a stop loss set at 150.200: the position is settled when Ask reaches 150.200

The stop loss for a short position can trigger if the Ask reaches the stop loss price before the Bid’s candlestick reaches it on the chart. This is one situation where it feels like it was settled “without reaching” on the chart.

How to compare

  • In Market Watch (Ctrl+M), arrange and check Bid and Ask for the instrument side by side
  • In the chart properties (F8), under “General,” check “Show Ask line”

Notes

The spread is not constant; it changes with time of day and market conditions. The display names and where to set things may differ slightly depending on the MT5 version and language settings.

Summary

Buying: enter at the Ask and exit at the Bid; selling: enter at the Bid and exit at the Ask. Being aware that the chart is displayed centered on the Bid makes it easier to understand why price differences occur.