Forex

A USD-account trader opens a long EUR/USD position of 1 standard lot at 1.0850 and closes at 1.0900, a 50-pip move:

Position size = 100,000 EUR. Entry 1.0850, exit 1.0900 — the quoted price moved 50 pips in the trader's favour. Pip value = $10 per pip on a USD-quoted pair, 1 standard lot. Gross profit on the move = 50 × $10 = $500, before costs.

Costs on the round trip: the spread is crossed once, not at entry and again at exit. The trader buys at the ask and sells at the bid, paying the approximately 1.2-pip EUR/USD spread a single time. Round-trip spread cost = 1.2 pips × $10 = $12. Net profit before any swap = $500 − $12 = $488.

If the position was held overnight, swap applies. At a long EUR/USD swap of approximately −$10 per night, holding for two nights deducts another $20.

Final P&L = $488 − $20 = $468 if held two nights, $488 if closed same-day. The same trade in pips ignores the cost layer entirely. A 50-pip movement on EUR/USD is mathematically a positive trade; the costs determine whether the account changes by what the pip count suggests or by something materially less.