Direct answer: bid price and offer price
In forex, a currency pair is usually quoted with two prices: a bid and an offer (also called the ask).
- Bid price: the price at which someone is willing to buy the base currency (and sell the quote currency) in that pair.
- Offer price (ask): the price at which someone is willing to sell the base currency (and buy the quote currency) in that pair.
These two prices exist at the same time because markets have buyers and sellers with different willingness to trade.
How bid and offer prices work
A forex quote is typically displayed as Bid / Offer (for example, “1.10000 / 1.10005” for a hypothetical pair).
A key point is the direction:
- If a participant wants to sell the base currency, they usually receive the bid price.
- If a participant wants to buy the base currency, they usually pay the offer (ask) price.
The spread is the difference between the offer and the bid:
- Spread = Offer − Bid
In normal quoted markets, the offer is at or above the bid, producing a non-negative spread. The spread can be wider when liquidity is thinner or market conditions are more uncertain.
Because different market participants and trading venues can have different liquidity and pricing, the exact bid/offer values can vary from one provider to another and can update continuously.
Example and checks you can do independently
Consider a simplified quote shown on a trading screen: Bid = 1.20000 and Offer = 1.20003.
- The spread is 1.20003 − 1.20000 = 0.00003.
- If you are looking at the same pair at a later moment, the bid and offer may shift independently because orders, liquidity, and market interest can change.
Two independent checks:
- Verify that offer − bid matches the spread you observe on the quote display (if the display reports a spread).
- Compare the bid/offer you see for the same currency pair across different times; you should expect changes, especially during more active or uncertain periods.
Relevant limitations and uncertainty
This explanation is general and does not assume any real-time quote feed or your personal situation.
- Bid/offer are not a single “fair value.” They are two executable prices reflecting buy and sell willingness.
- Spreads are variable. They can widen or narrow as market conditions and liquidity change.
- Provider quotes can differ. Different brokers or venues may display slightly different bid/offer levels due to execution arrangements and available liquidity.
- No outcome is implied. Knowing bid and offer helps interpret quotes, but it does not predict future price movements.