• Please calculate P&L on XTIUSD from 56.97 to 51.22, 1.3 lots, short. 

 
56.97 - 51.22 = 5.75 = 575 

       575 x 10 x 1.3 = 7,475 

              

  1. The pip value of XTIUSD is 10 dollars, just like any normal FX pair or gold etc. The number of pips though is 575, not 5.75. 

  

A good general rule of thumb is that the pip is expressed as the second last decimal. If you look at a quote of EURUSD for example: 1.10745 – the pip value here is the number 4 (1.10745) as it’s the second last value in the quote. This lines up with other symbols like USDJPY: 108.614, the 1 (108.614) is where the pip is. 

  

So if we now look at XTIUSD (which is quoted to three decimals in the platform, not two that was provided in the question) then the question is 56.970 - 51.220. Now, we know that the pip is the second decimal so if I highlighted the pip in the quote it would be: 56.970 - 51.220. If we were to effectively re-write this question in pips, it would be 5697.0 – 5122.0 which equals 575. 

  

  • Please calculate the P&L on XPTUSD if I had 2 lots open, long, and it moved from 885.96 to 893.86 
     

            885.96 - 893.86 = 7.9 = 79 

            2 (lots) x 10 (full pip value of XPT) = 200 

            200 x 7.9 = 1,580 USD Profit 
 

  1. Much in the same way for the XPT trade, the pip value of XPT is 10 dollars, not 100. The number of pips on the trade though isn’t 7.9 it's 79 so your answer is correct but again the number of pips is off. 

  

If we use the example, I did above with XTI, let’s apply it for XTP. The quotes that we are comparing are: 885.96 - 893.86. XPT is indeed quoted to 2 decimals. So, if we look at the quote again, I’ve highlighted the pip in each quote: 885.96 - 893.86. So, if we expressed this comparison in pips, it would be: 8859.6 – 8938.6 which is 79. 

 

Question from the above explanation: 

 

So when we calculate PNL, the PIP value of all currency is $10 that includes forex and energy except for Silver which is $50. What else is the exception? What about indices/commodities and cryptos?  
 

Answer from David: 

 

The only real exceptions are: 

  

FX/Commodities: 

  

JPY FX symbols where its 1000 JPY per pip 

Silver where its 50 USD per pip 

  

CFDs: 

  

You have to think of CFDs as a whole different method for calculating profit/pips etc. It’s not like FX or commodities where you have to find a pip value or anything. It’s just that a 1 dollar move in the value of the index is 1 dollar per lot. It’s a much simpler. This is the same across cryptos as well. 

  

6500 – 6501 in AUS200 is 1 AUD per lot 

27880 – 27900 in US30 is 20 USD per lot 

  

Exceptions: 

  

There are some symbols where 1 lot doesn’t equal 1 contract. If you look at the specifications of all CFDs in MT4, you would see that there a couple of exceptions. 

  

JPN225: This has 10 units per 1 lot. This means that instead of 1 unit being 1 JPY, 1 point equa10JPY. 

XRPUSD: This has 100 units per 1 lot. This means that instead of being 1 unit being 1 USD, its 100 USD. If you look at the price of XRPUSD, you might see why. It’s quoted at 0.25320. For XRP to move from 0.25320 to 1 dollar would be massive!