Direct answer
A pip spread going up on forex.com usually means the bid-ask spread widened for that currency pair at the moment you checked. In practice, this happens when market conditions make it harder (or more costly) to quote prices tightly—most commonly due to reduced liquidity or increased short-term volatility.
How pip spread changes
A bid-ask spread is the difference between the buy price (bid) and sell price (ask). When that difference grows, traders describe it as a “wider spread,” and in many quote displays it is expressed in pips.
Several non-exclusive drivers can widen spreads:
- Lower liquidity (thinner order books): With fewer active orders at each price level, there is less ability to match buyers and sellers at close prices, so the quoted gap often increases.
- Higher volatility: When prices move more unpredictably over short periods, maintaining a tight bid and ask becomes riskier for liquidity providers. A wider spread compensates for that uncertainty.
- Event-driven uncertainty: Around major economic announcements, central bank communication, geopolitical headlines, or sudden shifts in market expectations, participants may rebalance positions quickly, increasing volatility and reducing depth.
- Trading session and time-of-day effects: Liquidity and spreads can vary between overlapping market hours and quieter periods.
- Quote/timing differences: Displayed spreads depend on what is being measured (bid/ask at the venue, a momentary snapshot, or how the platform calculates “pip” spread from raw pricing). That can make spread movements appear abrupt.
Example checks you can do
To verify what likely caused the widening (without relying on real-time assumptions), you can:
- Compare the same pair across nearby time windows (for example, before and after a known news release). If spreads widen only briefly, that pattern often aligns with volatility bursts.
- Check whether both directions widen simultaneously (bid-to-ask gap rising). If only one side changes due to rounding or display, the issue may be how the quote is presented rather than true liquidity deterioration.
- Look for broad market behavior rather than a single pair issue. If multiple pairs show wider spreads at the same time, it often points to general liquidity/volatility changes.
- Confirm the pip definition used by the display. “Pips” can be expressed differently across instruments, and the platform’s conversion from price to pip units can affect how “spread in pips” appears.
Relevant limitations
This explanation is general and describes common mechanisms for wider bid-ask spread and pip spread on forex quote screens. It does not assume any specific, current condition on forex.com. Because platform displays can reflect timing and calculation choices, two users may observe different “spread in pips” readings at the same moment. For a precise cause at a specific timestamp, you would need provider-specific quote details and the market context around that time.