Sri Lanka — Spread Stability - Setting the Buffer on a Stop-Loss
Read the typical spread and how far it stretched under load, convert the gap into price distance, then push the stop beyond it and reduce the volume to keep the money at risk unchanged.
Open Exness Account →Spread stability decides how much room a stop-loss needs, so read it before placing the stop rather than after being stopped out. Look up the instrument, compare its typical spread with how far the spread stretched under load, and use the difference as the buffer the stop has to clear. An instrument whose spread barely moves needs almost no buffer; one that stretches needs the stop pushed out and the volume brought down to match.
Why stability matters
Two accounts can advertise the same ‘typical’ spread and behave very differently under load. A stop-loss, a scalp exit or a news entry is filled at the spread of that moment — not at the median. Spread stability is one of the account features Exness highlights; this table lets a trader verify it on measured data rather than take it on faith.
Spreads may fluctuate and widen depending on liquidity, news and market conditions.
Measured spread distribution (pips; points for non-FX)
| Instrument | Min | p25 | Median | p75 | p90 | p99 | Max | Stdev | p90 ÷ median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 0.411 | 1.00 |
| GBP/USD | 0.4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10.1 | 15.8 | 1.284 | 1.00 |
| USD/JPY | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.8 | 24.8 | 0.451 | 1.00 |
| AUD/USD | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 4.9 | 7.7 | 0.715 | 1.00 |
| USD/CAD | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 0.249 | 1.00 |
| USD/CHF | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 9.9 | 0.506 | 1.00 |
| NZD/USD | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 7.8 | 10 | 1.087 | 1.00 |
| EUR/GBP | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.477 | 1.00 |
| EUR/JPY | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 24 | 0.913 | 1.00 |
| GBP/JPY | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 30.4 | 2.426 | 1.00 |
| AUD/JPY | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 16.8 | 0.72 | 1.00 |
| XAU/USD (Gold) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 34 | 200 | 2.625 | 1.00 |
| XAG/USD (Silver) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0.066 | 1.00 |
| US Oil (WTI) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.00 |
| UK Oil (Brent) | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 7.3 | 0.166 | 1.06 |
| BTC/USD | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 0 | 1.00 |
| ETH/USD | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 1.00 |
| US500 (S&P 500) | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 80 | 120 | 7.353 | 1.00 |
| US30 (Dow) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 3.069 | 1.30 |
| USTEC (Nasdaq 100) | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 112 | 300 | 6.526 | 1.00 |
| DE30 (DAX) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 56 | 100 | 10.129 | 1.00 |
| JP225 (Nikkei 225) | 31 | 31 | 31 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 71 | 3.417 | 1.10 |
| UK100 (FTSE 100) | 98 | 98 | 98 | 98 | 98 | 860 | 860 | 103.579 | 1.00 |
p25/p75/p90/p99 = the spread was at or below this value 25/75/90/99% of the sampled time. ‘p90 ÷ median’ close to 1.00 = the spread barely moves; higher values = it stretches under load.
In this sample, XAG/USD (Silver), US Oil (WTI), BTC/USD, ETH/USD and others held the same spread from the median all the way to the 99th percentile — the quote traders got 1 time in 2 was the quote they got 99 times in 100.
Where these stability figures come from
- Every tick's bid and ask captured in-terminal on Exness's own MT5 feed.
- Percentiles computed over the full sample, not a hand-picked window.
- Rollover and news windows are included — that is what the p99 and Max columns show.
- Figures refresh on a schedule.
Typical and stretched spread readings are captured in-terminal from the platform feed. The gap between them is the part of a stop distance the spread alone can consume, which is the number this page exists to give you.
Open Exness Account →Reading stability as a stop-placement input
A stop-loss is triggered against the quote, not against a mid-price, so the spread is part of the distance the market has to travel to reach it. On an instrument whose spread stretches under load, a stop placed at the intended distance from entry is effectively closer than intended at exactly the moment it matters.
That is why the reading below belongs before the order rather than in a review afterwards. Stability tells you how much of the stop distance the spread can consume on its own, and that number is what the buffer has to cover.
Where a stable reading still needs care
A stable-in-sample badge means the spread did not move across the whole capture. It is a statement about the sample, not a guarantee about the next hour, and the same instrument can behave differently around a release or at the daily rollover.
Confidence matters too: rows built on a small number of readings are indicative rather than settled, and are worth treating as a first estimate to be re-checked in the platform before an order rather than as a fixed property of the instrument.
Where the buffer goes in the plan
The buffer belongs in the stop distance, not in the volume, and the volume is then adjusted afterwards to keep the money at risk unchanged. Done in that order, an unstable spread costs a smaller position rather than a wider loss.
Done in the other order - keeping the volume and widening the stop - the same instability quietly doubles what a stopped-out trade costs, which is the outcome the reading was supposed to prevent.
Setting the stop buffer from stability
- Find the instrument and read its typical spread, which is the median of all readings rather than an advertised figure.
- Read how far the spread stretched in the same sample. The gap between typical and stretched is the buffer the stop has to clear.
- Convert that gap into price distance for the instrument, using the digits from its contract specification.
- Add the buffer to the stop distance you intended, so the stop sits beyond where the spread alone can reach.
- Reduce the volume to keep the money at risk the same, rather than keeping the volume and accepting a bigger loss at the wider stop.
- Re-check before news. A stable reading is a sample from ordinary conditions, and releases are what move a spread out of that range.
Spreads may fluctuate and widen due to factors including market volatility, news events, market open and close, and others.