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Most traders look at average spread. The weekly maximum on AUDUSD is worth tracking too, because averages hide the moments that actually hurt.

How to measure it: a small MT5 service that logs bid and ask every second and records the highest spread per hour. Run it for a few weeks, then look at where the maximums cluster.

What to expect, based on how AUD liquidity works:

• The widest spreads tend to sit around the daily rollover, when liquidity providers reset and the book is thin.
• Outside rollover, Australian data (employment, CPI) and RBA decisions are the obvious candidates for short spikes.
• During London and New York, spikes should be rare except around US data.

If your log confirms that pattern, a few practical rules follow:

• No open AUDUSD positions from 10 minutes before to 30 minutes after rollover.
• Stops at least 3 times the normal hourly spread away, so a short spike can't trigger them.
• No pending orders left near price during Australian data.

The second rule is worth a quick example: if the normal spread at your trading hour is 0.3 pips and a rollover spike reaches 5 pips, a stop 2 pips away can be hit without price moving at all.

The service is only a few lines of MQL5. Does your broker show rollover spikes on AUD, and how wide do they get?