Introduction
US dollar versus the Singapore dollar, in short, is referred to as USDSGD. USD stands for the US dollar and is the base currency, and SGD stands for the Singapore dollar and is the quote currency. This currency pair comes under the sack of exotic currency pairs. Unlike the major and minor currencies, exotic currencies tend to have high volatility and low volumes.
Understanding USD/SGD
Comprehending the value of USDSGD is simple. The number of SGD equivalent to one USD is the value of the currency pair USDSGD. It is quoted as 1 USD per X SGD. So, if the value of this pair is 1.3641, then 1.3241 units of SGD are to be produced to purchase one USD.
Spread
Spread is a term given to the difference between the bid price and ask price of a currency pair. This value varies from broker to broker and on the type of execution model.
ECN: 7 | STP: 9
Fees
The fee is similar to the commission that is paid on each trade. This value, too, varies based on how the brokers execute a trade. Note that there is no fee on STP accounts. However, there is a fee on ECN accounts. And for exotic pairs, the fee is pretty high.
Slippage
Slippage is the difference between the price that a trader expected to receive and the price he actually got. There is always this difference due to the volatility of the market and the broker’s execution speed.
Trading Range in USD/SGD
Assessing the profit or loss that a trader is liable for is considered to be a vital factor in trading. This can easily be determined using the table below, which represents the pip movements in the currency pair in a given timeframe.
Procedure to assess Pip Ranges
- Add the ATR indicator to your chart
- Set the period to 1
- Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
- Shrink the chart so you can assess a large time period
- Select your desired timeframe
- Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
- Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
- Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.
USD/SGD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range
The total cost on a trade does not remain static even though you’re trading with the same broker. It varies depending on the volatility of the currency pair. To find the variation of these costs, we consider the values in the pip movement table and find the ratio with the total cost, and represent in percentage.
ECN Model Account
Spread = 7 | Slippage = 3 |Trading fee = 3
Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 7 + 3 + 3 = 13
STP Model Account
Spread = 9 | Slippage = 3 | Trading fee = 0
Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 9 + 3 + 0 = 12
The Ideal way to trade the USD/SGD
As mentioned, exotic pairs are pretty expensive to trade. However, it can still be traded in some moments when the costs are low.
It can be ascertained from the above table that the percentages are maximum in the min column and minimum on the max column. This means that the costs are high when the market’s volatility is low and vice versa.
Now, to ensure moderate volatility with affordable costs, it is ideal to trade when the volatility of the market is somewhere around the average values of the volatility table.
Slippage is a variable in the total cost that can be erased by trading using limit orders instead of market orders. In doing so, the costs will be reduced by a significant value. For example, if the total cost on the trade was 13 (including slippage=3), then the costs would be reduced to 10 as slippage is not considered.
