On GBPUSD during the London morning the two numbers should usually match. The exceptions are where to look:
- Around data releases, expect spread at fill to be wider than at signal, sometimes by more than a pip.
- On ordinary bars, differences should be rare and roughly balanced between wider and tighter.
- Compare the average result of wider-at-fill trades with the rest. Wider spreads usually come with fast price movement, so a worse result there would not be surprising.
Simple thing, but invisible until both values are logged. Does anyone else log spread at more than one point in the trade's life?