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Alpari (UK)

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• FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Trading Related FAQ

We’ve compiled a list of answers to our most frequent customer queries.

• Answer Close 1

  What time do I see in my MetaTrader?

  Our trading platform server time zone is Central European Time (CET) or London time +1. All trades, pending orders and historical data will always be shown as CET or London + 1. The time you see in the Market Watch window is the time of the latest quote.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 2

  Can I change the time zone in MetaTrader?

  No, the time zone of our servers is always Central European Time (CET) or London time +1. In other words, the platform GMT offset is GMT+1, or GMT+2 when Daylight Saving Time is in effect. In this time zone we avoid having small candlesticks on Sundays which allows the running of technical analysis and back testing to be smooth and straight forward.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 3

  Can you please explain what you mean by “Lot Sizes”?

  1 lot is 100,000 units of base currency.
  0.1 of a lot is 10,000 units of base currency
  0.01 of a lot is 1,000 units of base currency (this is the minimum lot size).
  
  Base currency is the first currency in the currency pair.
  
  For further details, please refer to the "Spread and Margin" sub-section.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 4

  What are your trading hours?

  Alpari (UK) offers FX trading; Forex is an OTC (over-the-counter, OFF exchange) market, so there are no defined trading sessions. If you have an account with Alpari (UK) you may trade from 23:00 (London time) Sunday to 22:00 (London time) Friday. Our Helpdesk and Customer Service teams work from 07:00 London time to 22:00 (London time) (Mon-Fri).

• Answer Close 5

  What is the minimum contract size?

  The minimum contract size is 0.01 of a lot i.e. 1,000 units of base currency.

  Classic account: The minimum contract size is 0.1 lot i.e.10,000 units of base currency.

  Pro account (Alpari Direct and Alpari Direct Pro): The minimum contract size is 0.1 lot i,e, 10,000 units of base currency.

  Pro account (MT4): The minimum contract size is 3 lots i.e. 300,000 units of base currency.

  For further information please see the following table:
  http://www.alpari.co.uk/en/trading_accounts/account_comparison_table.html

• Answer Close 6

  What are your spreads?

  For more information, please refer to the "Spreads and Margins" page.

• Answer Close 7

  Do you guarantee stop losses?

  Order execution is guaranteed under normal market conditions but not guaranteed under abnormal market conditions.

  Under abnormal market conditions or when the order level falls within the price gap on the market opening, the order is executed at the quote which is presented in the quotes flow during the process of order execution. Buy stop, sell stop or stop loss is executed at the level less profitable for the customer; buy limit, sell limit or take profit is executed at the level more profitable for the customer.

• Answer Close 8

  How can I view my trading history?

  Please open the 'Terminal' window (press Ctrl+T on your keyboard) and select the 'Account History' tab. Right click to enable the context menu which will allow you to save your trading history as an .html file that can be viewed outside the trading platform.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 9

  On your site you mention that you offer cross-rates but I can't see them in the ‘Market Watch’ window?

  Click the right mouse button on any instrument in the ‘Market Watch‘ window and select ‘Show All‘ from the menu.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 10

  I cannot log in into my trading account but I need to close an open position, what do I do?

  You may close (open, place an order) a position over the telephone 24 hours a day (Mon to Fri). Simply phone our dealing desk on +44 (0)20 7426 2950. You will be asked for your MetaTrader login and telephone password for security reasons before your request can be executed.

• Answer Close 11

  Can I trade 24/7?

  You can trade Forex with Alpari (UK) 24 hours a day from Sunday 23:00 to Friday 22:00 London time. The time zone of our servers is always Central European Time (CET) or London time +1. In other words, the platform GMT offset is GMT+1, or GMT+2 when Daylight Saving Time is in effect.

• Answer Close 12

  Do you have any restrictions on scalping?

  No, we do not have any special policies or restrictions on scalping.

• Answer Close 13

  How do I download historical data for MetaTrader?

  Open MetaTrader, select Tools -> History Centre. Double click on the required currency pair and period and press 'Download'. The historical data you selected should then be downloaded.

• Answer Close 14

  How do I add an Expert Advisor?

  Please save your expert advisor into MetaTrader’s directory on your computer: C:Program FilesMetaTrader - Alpari UKexperts. Then restart MetaTrader. The Expert Advisor file should appear in the navigator window in MetaTrader. Left click on it and drag it onto a chart of the currency that you would like the expert advisor to trade on.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 15

  What do I do if the attached Expert Advisor does not trade?

  First of all check if trading is allowed by going to 'Tools -> Options -> Experts tab -> Allow live trading'. Then make sure that the Expert Advisor button on the main tool bar is pressed.

  You should be able to see a smiley face in the top right-hand corner of your chart to show that you have activated your EA correctly. If everything is OK but the EA still does not trade, see your log files via the 'Experts' tab in the 'Terminal' window (you should be able to see what error occurs). You can also email us for further assistance on support@alpari.co.uk.

  >> Find out more

• Answer Close 16

  I like to trade over news releases and volatile markets, is this a problem?

  Not at all, our trading platform and trading desk are highly geared for active trading. Please refer to our “Terms of Business” in respect of order execution and spreads under abnormal market conditions.

• Answer Close 17

  Can I place trailing stop orders?

  Yes, you can. More information on trailing stops can be found in our MetaTrader user guide. Please note that trailing stops become inactive when you log out of MetaTrader.

• Answer Close 18

  Can I be long and short in the same instrument simultaneously?

  Yes, you can. This is called 'matched' or 'hedged positions' – long and short positions of the same transaction size opened in the same instrument. The margin required to open and maintain such positions (hedged margin) is half of the usual initial margin per transaction.

• Answer Close 19

  When I go offline do you close my open positions and placed orders?

  Open positions and pending orders stay in the system even if you log off from your trading platform. The same is true for all order types except trailing stops.

  Trailing Stops become inactive when you close or log out of MetaTrader. Expert Advisors also become inactive when MetaTrader is closed or you are not logged in.

• Answer Close 20

  What happens to my position overnight?

  Foreign exchange trading at Alpari (UK) is dealt on Spot basis only and all trades settle two business days from the trade date (except USDCAD which settles one business day from trade date). The settlement day is called the value date. As Alpari (UK) does not arrange physical delivery of currencies, all positions left open from 22:59:45 to 22:59:59 (London time) will be rolled over so that the value date moves forward one business day. This will allow all trades to maintain open spot status
  
  As a result, positions are subject to a swap charge or credit, based on the rates presented on the "Rollover/Interest Policy" page. 
  
  If you have an open position at 23:00 GMT (MetaTrader GMT offset is GMT+1, or GMT+2 when Daylight Saving Time is in effect) then your trading account will be debited or credited in accordance with our rollover policy.
  
  The cost of rollover is predominantly based on the interest rate differential of the two currencies in the pair. Whilst swap rates can dependent on market supply and demand itself, the general rule is that if you buy the currency with the higher interest rate and sell the currency with the lower interest rate, you will earn the rollover. If you buy the currency with the lower interest rate and sell the currency with the higher interest rate, then you will pay rollover. Please note that the swap market is a market in its own right, and rates can be affected by liquidity so that the interest rate differential rule outlined above is not always a simple equation. This is particularly true in the current financial climate.
  
  Note: When you roll an open position from Wednesday to Thursday on trade date basis, Monday of the following week  becomes the new value date, not Saturday Therefore, the rollover charge on a Wednesday evening will be three times the value indicated on the "Rollover/Interest Policy" page".

• Answer Close 21

  Does Alpari (UK) charge any commissions?

  Micro and Classic accounts: No. Transaction costs are incorporated into the bid/ask spread.

  Pro accounts: Yes. Please refer to the following web page for details:
  http://pro.alpari.co.uk/en/trading_account/pro_account_commission.html

You can also browse additional Frequently Asked Questions on the following topics:

Personal Account Opening

Live Accounts

Demo Accounts

Trading Related FAQ

Deposits and Withdrawal FAQ

Systematic Platform

Micro and Classic Accounts

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for please contact our Client Services team between 07am to 10pm London time, Monday to Friday on +44 (0)20 7426 2900 or via email on support@alpari.co.uk

© 2004-2010 Alpari (UK), LTD