It is always good to be familiar how to calculate the pips in US Dollar. If the quote currency is anything other than US Dollar, the results must be converted to dollars using the current exchange rate between the quote currency and the US Dollar in order to obtain the dollar value of the pip. Lets take a few examples:
Example No 1: Lets take the currency pair USD/JPY. JPY is the quote currency here. Using our formula: Pip value for 1 standard lot of USD/JPY= 100,000 (Lot Size)*1(No of Lots)*0.01(Pip Size) = 1000.
The quote currency is in Yen, so the value of 1 pip on a standard lot is also in Yen. You need to convert this pip value into USD if your account is in US Dollar. The broker will do that for you automatically if you instruct the broker to do so.
You should know that your profit and loss will stay in that currency you made a profit or loss in until you instruct the broker to exchange those currencies into your own base currency. However, lets do it ourselves as well.
In order to make the conversion to USD, you need the USD/JPY exchange rate. Suppose the USD/JPY rate is 101.02. The Dollar pip value will be 1000/101.02= $ 9.89. Therefore, 1 pip is equal to $ 9.89 in the case of USD/JPY for a standard lot at the exchange rate of 101.02.
Example No 2: Now lets take the currency pair EUR/GBP. The base currency in this case is Euro and the quote currency is British Pound.
Pip value for a standard lot of EUR/GBP= 100,000 (Lot Size)*1 (Number of Lots)*0.0001(Pip Size) = 10. Here, the quote currency is in British Pounds, hence the value of pip is also in Pounds.
You need the GBP/USD exchange rate in order to convert into USD. Suppose the GBP/USD exchange rate is 1.8465. Dollar pip value will be 10*1.8465=$18.46.
Example#3: Consider the currency pair EUR/USD. The base currency is Euro. Here the quote currency is in USD so you wont have to make any conversions. Pip value on a standard lot=100,000(Lot Size)*1(Number of Lots)*0.0001(Pip Size) = $10 per pip.
It should be kept in mind that while the lot size, amount of lot traded and the specific currency pair traded will certainly affect the pip value, the leverage chosen by the trader whether it is 50:1, 400:1 or somewhere in between, has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the pip value.
There is something more that you need to know. You must have seen many times the exchange rates expressed like 0.5678/0.5683. For example the EUR/USD exchange rate might be 0.9955/0.9959 at a particular moment in time. Always remember that exchange rates keep on changing almost from moment to moment due to the inherent volatility in the forex markets. This volatility in the currency market is what makes forex trading so exciting. The exchange rate for any currency pair is expressed in the form of bid/ask. The first number is the bid price that you will get from your forex broker if you sell Euros against US Dollar. The second number is the ask price also known as the offer price, the price at which the broker will sell you Euros against US Dollar.
The difference between the bid and ask price is known as the spread. This is the brokers profit. Sometimes there can be slippage also. New traders often think that the difference between the price they see on their charts and the price the broker quotes them is slippage. This is wrong. Your charting software and broker prices are two different things.
Example No 1: Lets take the currency pair USD/JPY. JPY is the quote currency here. Using our formula: Pip value for 1 standard lot of USD/JPY= 100,000 (Lot Size)*1(No of Lots)*0.01(Pip Size) = 1000.
The quote currency is in Yen, so the value of 1 pip on a standard lot is also in Yen. You need to convert this pip value into USD if your account is in US Dollar. The broker will do that for you automatically if you instruct the broker to do so.
You should know that your profit and loss will stay in that currency you made a profit or loss in until you instruct the broker to exchange those currencies into your own base currency. However, lets do it ourselves as well.
In order to make the conversion to USD, you need the USD/JPY exchange rate. Suppose the USD/JPY rate is 101.02. The Dollar pip value will be 1000/101.02= $ 9.89. Therefore, 1 pip is equal to $ 9.89 in the case of USD/JPY for a standard lot at the exchange rate of 101.02.
Example No 2: Now lets take the currency pair EUR/GBP. The base currency in this case is Euro and the quote currency is British Pound.
Pip value for a standard lot of EUR/GBP= 100,000 (Lot Size)*1 (Number of Lots)*0.0001(Pip Size) = 10. Here, the quote currency is in British Pounds, hence the value of pip is also in Pounds.
You need the GBP/USD exchange rate in order to convert into USD. Suppose the GBP/USD exchange rate is 1.8465. Dollar pip value will be 10*1.8465=$18.46.
Example#3: Consider the currency pair EUR/USD. The base currency is Euro. Here the quote currency is in USD so you wont have to make any conversions. Pip value on a standard lot=100,000(Lot Size)*1(Number of Lots)*0.0001(Pip Size) = $10 per pip.
It should be kept in mind that while the lot size, amount of lot traded and the specific currency pair traded will certainly affect the pip value, the leverage chosen by the trader whether it is 50:1, 400:1 or somewhere in between, has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the pip value.
There is something more that you need to know. You must have seen many times the exchange rates expressed like 0.5678/0.5683. For example the EUR/USD exchange rate might be 0.9955/0.9959 at a particular moment in time. Always remember that exchange rates keep on changing almost from moment to moment due to the inherent volatility in the forex markets. This volatility in the currency market is what makes forex trading so exciting. The exchange rate for any currency pair is expressed in the form of bid/ask. The first number is the bid price that you will get from your forex broker if you sell Euros against US Dollar. The second number is the ask price also known as the offer price, the price at which the broker will sell you Euros against US Dollar.
The difference between the bid and ask price is known as the spread. This is the brokers profit. Sometimes there can be slippage also. New traders often think that the difference between the price they see on their charts and the price the broker quotes them is slippage. This is wrong. Your charting software and broker prices are two different things.
About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try These 1500 Pips A Day Forex Signals From Heaven. Know Forex Rebellion!
