Trading knowledge libraryHow to Read a Price QuoteMarket Basics
Market Basics
How to Read a Price Quote
A price quote is two prices for one symbol, and each price has three parts. This paper shows you the bid, the ask and the spread on one real quote, the big figure, the pips and the point inside the number, where the pip sits on gold and an index, what the last digit means up close, and how to read the rest of the Market Watch line at the end of one real day.
A quote is two prices for one symbol. The bid, the lower one, is the price you can sell at; the ask, the higher one, is the price you can buy at; and the gap between them is the spread, which is what the broker charges for the trade. At the open of 3 September 2026 the euro against the dollar read 1.15872 to sell and 1.15881 to buy. Each of those numbers has three parts. The front, 1.15, is the big figure, and it changes rarely. The next two digits, 87, are the pips — a pip is the fourth decimal place, the smallest step most people count in. The last digit, 2, is a point, a tenth of a pip, the fine grain the platform adds.
The same reading everywhere
The rule does not change from symbol to symbol, but the place the pip sits does, because the numbers are different sizes. On the euro and the pound against the dollar it is the fourth decimal. On gold, quoted in dollars per ounce to two decimals, most brokers count the pip as ten cents, and the cents are the fine grain. On an index like the Nasdaq the step people count in is one point, and the decimals are the grain. The symbol's specification page says where the pip sits; read it once and the digits fall into place.
