A requote happens when a broker cannot fill your order at the price you requested and instead offers you a new price, which you must accept or reject before the trade is opened. Requotes appear with instant (or request) execution, where the order carries a specific price. If the market moves before the broker processes the order, the broker returns a new quote instead of filling it. The new price is usually worse for the trader, and while you decide, the market keeps moving.
What a requote looks like: a simple example
You click Buy on EUR/USD at an ask of 1.10000 on a MetaTrader 4 account with instant execution. By the time the order reaches the broker’s server, the ask has moved to 1.10006. Instead of opening the trade, the platform shows a window with the new price.
- Requested price: 1.10000
- Requoted price: 1.10006, which is 0.6 pips worse
- Your options: accept the new price, or reject it and stay out of the trade
- Time limit: the requote is valid only for a few seconds; if the price moves again, you may receive another requote
In fast markets this can turn into a requote loop: each time you accept, the price has already moved and a new requote appears.
Requote vs slippage vs order rejection
| Event | What happens to the order | Typical execution mode | Is the trade opened? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requote | Broker offers a new price and waits for your decision | Instant or request execution | Only if you accept the new price |
| Slippage | Order is filled at the next available price without asking | Market execution | Yes, at a different price |
| Rejection | Order is refused, no new price is offered | Any, often after a price or validity check | No |
In short, instant execution gives price certainty but no fill certainty, so price changes produce requotes. Market execution gives fill certainty but no price certainty, so price changes produce slippage.
Instant execution vs market execution
- Instant execution: the platform sends your order with the current price. The broker fills it at that price or returns a requote. It is common on dealing-desk and fixed-spread accounts.
- Request execution: you request a quote first, then confirm. If the price changes between quote and confirmation, the broker can requote.
- Market execution: the order is sent without a fixed price and filled at the best available price. There are no requotes, but there is slippage in both directions. ECN/STP-style accounts normally use market execution.
- Maximum deviation: on MetaTrader instant-execution accounts you can set a maximum deviation in points. If the new price is within this range, the order is filled without a requote; if it is outside, you get a requote.
Why brokers requote: main causes
- Fast price movement: news releases and market opens move prices faster than orders can be processed.
- Latency: the longer the order travels between your terminal and the broker’s server, the higher the chance the price has changed. See execution latency.
- Low liquidity: outside main sessions, or for large orders, there may be no volume at the requested price.
- Price and validity checks by the liquidity provider: in institutional FX, a liquidity provider may use “last look” to check the price before accepting a trade request. If the price check fails, the request is rejected, and the broker may pass this back to the client as a requote or rejection.
- Broker risk settings: dealing-desk brokers can apply wider requote rules to specific accounts, for example to accounts they consider toxic flow or latency arbitrage.
How regulators and the FX Global Code treat requotes and last look
Under MiFID II best-execution rules, firms in the EU must take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for clients, which includes the likelihood and speed of execution, not only price. ESMA has warned in its Q&A on CFDs that asymmetric handling of price changes, where moves against the client are applied but moves in the client’s favour are not, points to an unmanaged conflict of interest. A requote policy that only ever offers worse prices raises the same question.
For the institutional FX market, Principle 17 of the FX Global Code, maintained by the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC), says that firms using last look should be transparent about it and use it only as a risk control to verify validity and price. Since the December 2017 update, the Code states that firms should not trade on information from the client’s trade request during the last look window. Ask your broker or liquidity provider whether last look is applied and whether price checks are symmetric.
How to avoid requotes
- Choose market execution: accounts with market execution do not requote. You accept slippage instead.
- Set a maximum deviation: on instant-execution accounts, allow a small deviation so that minor price changes are filled automatically.
- Reduce latency: run the terminal on a VPS close to the broker’s server, or connect through FIX API where the broker offers it.
- Avoid news spikes: requotes cluster in the seconds around major releases.
- Use pending orders: limit orders are placed in advance and do not need a price confirmation at entry.
- Track your requote rate: count requotes and rejections per broker, symbol and session. A rate that rises only on one account may indicate account-level settings.
Requotes in latency arbitrage
In latency arbitrage, the trading signal comes from a fast price feed, and the order goes to a slower broker. A requote means the broker has already updated its price, so the detected difference is usually gone. A sudden increase in requotes or rejections on one account often means the broker has changed execution settings for that account. Westernpips Private 7 logs execution results and includes Execution Control and Slippage Control settings to monitor these changes and pause trading when execution quality falls below your limits.
FAQ about requotes
Is a requote the broker’s fault?
Not always. Requotes are a normal part of instant execution in fast markets. Frequent requotes in calm markets, or requotes that only ever offer worse prices, are a reason to check the broker’s execution policy.
Should I accept a requote?
Only if the new price still fits your trade plan, including stop-loss and target. If the move has changed the setup, rejecting the requote is a valid decision.
Do ECN brokers requote?
ECN/STP accounts normally use market execution, so they do not requote. Orders can still be filled with slippage or rejected.
Can a requote give a better price?
Under fair execution, price changes in your favour should be passed on as price improvement. In practice, requotes are mostly reported when the price has moved against the trader.
Risk warning: Leveraged trading in Forex and CFDs can result in losses that exceed your initial expectations. Requotes, slippage and rejected orders can occur on any account and with any software. This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice.