What Is a Requote in Forex Trading?

You press either buy or sell and assume your trade is executed immediately. But imagine your surprise when you are greeted with a requote asking if you want to agree on a different price. If you’ve been in this situation before, you know about requotes.

For some novice traders, this could lead to confusion. They could feel that the trading platform was malfunctioning or that their broker was interfering with their order execution. But requotes occur regularly under certain market conditions. You must understand how requotes work and why they occur to avoid complications.

This article explains what requotes are, why they occur, the difference between requotes and slippage, and how you can minimize them.

What Is a Requote?

A Forex requote occurs when the price changes before your order can be fulfilled. With the original price no longer available, your broker offers a new price and asks whether you would like to proceed with the order.

Requotes commonly occur with accounts with instant execution since confirmation often occurs before an order is fulfilled. If even a slight price movement occurs during that time, the price will no longer be valid.

Let’s say the EUR/USD pair is at 1.1200 and you hit buy. By the time the broker receives the order, the price has increased to 1.1202. The system does not process your order automatically; instead, it asks whether you want to accept the new quote. This is what is known as a requote.

Although such delays tend to be very short, in times of very active markets they can be very significant.

Why Do Requotes Occur?

Requote in Forex can occur due to several reasons, but primarily due to market dynamics rather than technical issues.

From a market standpoint, the major factor is rapid price changes driven by macroeconomic news releases or unexpected market events, which can cause price movements within seconds. By the time your order reaches the trading server, the requested price may already be outdated.

Another aspect is the broker’s execution method, since brokers using the instant execution model usually verify prices before executing the order. If the price at which the order was placed is not current when the order is processed, the broker will issue a requote instead of executing the trade.

Market liquidity is also important. In periods with fewer buyers and sellers, there may be wider price gaps between when an order is placed and when it is executed.

The speed of connection is also significant. If the internet connection is slow or unstable, order transmission may be delayed, and by the time it reaches the server, the price may already have changed.

Common Causes of Requotes

At the same time, understanding How Market Makers Operate in Forex Trading can provide additional context for why some brokers use execution methods in which requotes are more common than in others.

It is also worth noting that requotes do not occur only in unusually active markets. There are times when a requote occurs due to constant changes in market quotations, even if the market is stable at the time of trading. The modern forex market processes numerous quotes every second. Even the single second that passes between the moment a trader submits his order and the moment when the trading server receives the instruction can change the market price.

Requotes vs Slippage

Requotes and slippage differ because they both refer to the difference between the expected price and the final price after an order is executed.

A requote is when you need to agree to an order before it’s executed at a different price. Slippage means an order is automatically executed at the next available price in the market, rather than requiring your confirmation first.

The major difference between these two concepts is that requotes give you the option to choose it while slippage doesn’t.

Comparison Chart

Think about train ticket booking. A requote is when you are told that the seat you wanted is unavailable and asked if you are okay with another seat before the ticket is booked. With slippage, you receive a different seat because the previous one is already sold out.

If you are also studying pricing models, knowing What Is a Floating Spread in Forex is will give you a good reason to know why prices can change fast at any given moment.

Which Brokers Are More Likely to Issue Requotes?

Not all brokers process orders the same way. Brokers that offer instant execution are more likely to issue more requotes than others, since they strive to execute the trade at the price you requested. When that price is no longer achievable, these brokers will offer you a new one.

Brokers that use market execution tend to execute the trade at the best available market price immediately. In such cases, slippage is more likely to happen than requotes. However, being different does not mean that one type is better than the other. Some traders like the option to set a new price, while others prefer to trade instantly regardless of the final price.

Nowadays, trading technologies have significantly reduced the number of requotes compared to many years ago. Faster servers, improved technologies, and better liquidity connections have now made trade execution easier for many brokers.

Many traders also choose advanced platforms such as cTrader platforms, which are designed to provide fast execution, detailed order management, and transparent trading conditions.

How Requotes Affect Trading Performance

Although each single requote may not seem significant, the cumulative effect of repeated requotes on trading results can be harmful over time. For instance, traders such as scalpers may turn a profit into losses just because of a one-second delay.

Similarly, while requotes affect swing traders, they do not hinder their trading performance as much, since swing traders analyze longer timeframes and larger price movements. Constant requotes lead to a serious loss of trust in the brokers. Once traders miss their entries more than once, they might start chasing the market or making impulsive entries.

The chart below summarizes the frequency of requotes by market condition type.

Likelihood of Requotes

High Volatility     ██████████████

Major News          █████████████

Market Open         ██████████

Normal Hours        ████

High Liquidity      ██

Even though this illustration is rather simplified, it demonstrates the fact that requotes occur quite often during active market sessions.

Requotes can affect how traders make their decisions. After undergoing numerous requotes over a short period, traders may feel anxious and take a trade without waiting for better conditions. Conversely, some traders might act too late and miss the chance to profit.

By following a good trading plan, traders can manage their emotional reactions. Veteran traders do not focus on a single missed deal; rather, they consider the overall success of their trading strategy.

How to Reduce Requotes

While it may not be possible for any trader to eliminate requotes, these practical steps can reduce their frequency.

Try to trade when the market is quiet, because trading during volatile times may carry you away amid price fluctuations.  Avoid placing an order before or after important economic news (unless it’s the basis of your trading strategy).

Make sure you have a good Internet connection, since even minor improvements in order-sending speed can help. Choose the execution model that best fits your trading style. While some traders prefer market execution, others prefer to see whether to accept or reject a new price.

Don’t forget to keep your trading platform up to date to ensure it works properly and communicates smoothly with the broker’s servers. If you trade with Otet, you can explore the available account types, execution methods, and other trading specifications using demo accounts before moving to a real trading account.

Choosing a Broker with Better Execution

Execution quality is crucial when choosing a broker, but it is not a parameter you should rely on for requotes alone.

Instead, consider several aspects together.

• Fast and consistent order execution
• Transparent pricing
• Strong liquidity access
• Stable trading servers
• Clear explanation of execution policies
• Reliable customer support

By reading the execution policy of the broker, you can gather a lot of information on the procedure of order execution, which you may expect in different market circumstances. A broker that shows how it executes trades enables traders to make the right choice based on facts rather than assumptions.

It is useful to evaluate a broker’s execution quality before investing real money. A demo account enables traders to learn the trading platform, test various account types, and gain a solid grasp of how different execution modes work in practice. Although demo trading cannot create identical conditions to the live market, it provides traders with useful insights to choose among different trading methods when they switch to a real account.

Conclusion

Requotes are part of the process used by broker firms when the requested or demanded price is not available at the time of order execution. Although requotes interrupt trading frequently, that does not mean the quality of service is bad or that any unfair actions occurred in connection with trading.

In fact, in some cases, requotes indicate normal market conditions, as prices move quickly. Thus, understanding the reasons for requotes, distinguishing requotes from slippages and similar phenomena, and choosing the most beneficial trading conditions will help you reduce their impact on your trading experience.

As you learn about forex trading, don’t expect your broker or trading system to rid you entirely of market changes. Focus not just on avoiding requote situations, but also on learning how execution models work so you can choose a method that best fits your trading plan. Understanding these aspects of trading will help you make better decisions and be more confident.