Swap Rate
The interest charged or earned for holding a forex position overnight.
Also called: rollover · overnight financing · swap
In plain language
Every currency has an interest rate. Holding a pair means earning interest on the currency you are long and paying it on the one you are short.
The net difference is applied daily as a swap. It can be a credit or a debit depending on direction and the rate differential.
Wednesday rollovers usually carry triple swap to account for weekend settlement.
Why it matters
On positions held for weeks, swap can quietly become a significant cost or benefit that no chart-based analysis will show you.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring swap costs on long-held positions in high-differential pairs.
- Being surprised by triple swap on Wednesday.
Keep exploring
These concepts are connected. Understanding one usually makes the next one easier.
Borrowing in a low-interest currency to hold a higher-interest one, collecting the difference.
Two currencies quoted against each other, showing how much of one buys the other.
Using borrowed capital to control a position larger than your account balance.
The firm that routes your orders to the market and holds your account.
The capital your broker requires you to post to open and hold a leveraged position.