Trading knowledge libraryWhat Is Going Long and Going ShortMarket Basics
Market Basics
What Is Going Long and Going Short
Going long is buying a pair and going short is selling it first. This paper shows you what each direction holds and owes, what the same real day did to a long and to a short, how selling something you do not own works in a currency pair, and which button opens which on your platform.
Every trade points one of two ways. Going long is buying the pair: you hold the currency on the left and owe the one on the right, and the trade gains if the number rises. Going short is selling the pair first: you hold the currency on the right and owe the one on the left, and the trade gains if the number falls. From the open of 3 September 2026 at 1.15872, a long and a short are two arrows from the same point, and the platform treats them exactly alike.
The same real day, both ways
Here is the real day done both ways, ignoring the spread. On 3 September 2026 the euro against the dollar opened at 1.15872 and closed at 1.16259 — a pip is the fourth decimal place, so 38.7 pips higher. A long bought at the open and sold at the close gained 38.7 pips — $387 at one lot, which is 100,000 euros. A short sold at the open and bought back at the close lost the same 38.7 pips, $387. The prices, the size and the distance are identical; the direction is the only thing that decides the sign. On 28 August, a day that fell 71 pips, the long would have lost $710 and the short gained it.
