GBPUSD spreads around 13:30 on quiet days: a logging exercise
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2026 2:44 pm
GBPUSD spreads around 13:30 London (14:30 Prague), when US data comes out and New York joins, are worth looking at closely even on days with no scheduled release.
How to look: record spread every 10 seconds with a small MT5 service or script, then average by minute across a few weeks, separately for data days and quiet days.
What to look for:
A worked example of why it matters: a stop 4 pips away with a normal 0.3 pip spread is fine. The same stop with a 2 pip spread for twenty seconds can be hit on the ask without the bid moving much at all.
This depends on the broker's feed. Does your account show the same quiet-day widening at 13:30?
How to look: record spread every 10 seconds with a small MT5 service or script, then average by minute across a few weeks, separately for data days and quiet days.
What to look for:
- The baseline in the early afternoon.
- Whether spreads widen in the minute or two around 13:30 even with nothing scheduled. Some liquidity providers pull or widen quotes around that time by routine.
- How long it takes to return to baseline afterwards.
- On NFP and CPI days, the size of the spike and the settling time.
A worked example of why it matters: a stop 4 pips away with a normal 0.3 pip spread is fine. The same stop with a 2 pip spread for twenty seconds can be hit on the ask without the bid moving much at all.
This depends on the broker's feed. Does your account show the same quiet-day widening at 13:30?