Direct answer: the range is not fixed
In practice, a forex trader does not have a single, dependable “amount they can make in a day.” Daily profit (or loss) depends on how much market moves, the size of the positions (how many units you trade), and the costs you pay to enter and exit trades. Because those inputs vary from day to day, any number is conditional rather than guaranteed.
If you want a bounded, independently checkable way to think about it, use the concept of potential profit per day rather than a guaranteed daily payout. Potential profit is the result you would get if price moves by a certain amount while you hold a certain position size—minus transaction costs. The same logic applies to losses.
How it works: earnings = movement × size − costs
Forex trading is typically measured in terms of pips (a small price change) and position size. A simplified way to frame the economics:
- Gross result: how far the exchange rate moves during your trade, translated into a pip gain or pip loss.
- Position size: larger positions generally scale gains and losses up, because the pip value increases with size.
- Costs: spread (the difference between the buy and sell price) and any commissions reduce net results.
- Net result: gross result minus costs.
Two traders can earn very different amounts on the same day because they traded different sizes, entered at different times, and faced different spreads and commissions.
A common misunderstanding is to average returns without accounting for the fact that costs occur each time you trade, and that price movement is not uniform.
Example checks: what assumptions make a “daily” number possible
You can create a clear “how much could it be in a day” estimate only by stating assumptions. For instance, you could assume:
- a typical trade size (position size)
- a typical number of trades you hold during the day
- an assumed pip movement (how many pips the market moves in your favor)
- estimated per-trade costs (spread and commissions)
Then you can compute a net daily outcome under that scenario. If you also model an adverse movement scenario, you can see how large losses could be under similar assumptions.
Important limitation: this type of calculation is a thought experiment based on assumptions, not a prediction. Real daily outcomes can be smaller or larger, and losses can exceed expectations depending on volatility and execution.
Relevant limitations and risks
- No fixed daily maximum: because market movement and your position sizing change, daily results are not capped in a predictable way.
- Losses are possible: net daily outcomes can be negative if price moves against your positions or costs are high relative to your gains.
- Cost sensitivity: frequent trading can increase total transaction costs, which can materially affect net results.
- Assumption dependence: any “amount per day” must be tied to explicit inputs (pip movement, position size, costs). Without them, the question has no single answer.
If your goal is to benchmark expectations, focus on independent metrics you can verify: how your pip value scales with size, how spreads and commissions apply per trade, and how net results change when you vary those inputs.