See which markets move the most for their trading cost, from our own price feeds.
Figures checked on 16 October 2026
Over the last 5 trading days, US100 (Nasdaq) moved 616 pts a day, about 543 times a typical account's round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate. Natural Gas moved 3.9% a day but only 22 times its cost, because its spread is wide.
On 1 lot this move is worth about $616. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $5,617. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $528. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $10.50. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $2,155. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $377. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (12 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $86.06. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $3,925. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $3,448. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
On 1 lot this move is worth about $91.19. Round-trip cost after the ForexFanClub rebate, at the cheapest account of each broker (13 accounts compared):
- MoveThe gap between the day’s highest and lowest price.
- CostWhat one trade costs you after the rebate, on a typical account.
- Move ÷ costHow many times its trading cost the market moves in a day.
- Past movesThe ranking describes past moves, not a signal to trade.
Contents
- Why Compare Volatility With Trading Cost?
- Which Forex Pairs and Markets Are the Most Volatile?
- Which Currency Pairs Move the Most?
- Which Pairs Move Most in the Tokyo, London and New York Sessions?
- How Do You Choose a Market to Trade From This Ranking?
- How Is the Ranking Calculated?
- Questions People Ask About the Volatility Ranking
- Which Page Do You Need Next?
Why Compare Volatility With Trading Cost?
Every trade starts with a small loss, which is the trading cost, and the price has to move your way before that loss is covered. In a market that moves a lot for its cost, a small part of the day’s move covers the cost, so fewer of your trades need to win.
For example, imagine 100 trades that each aim for a quarter of an average day’s move, with the stop-loss the same distance away. The table shows how many of those 100 trades must win just to cover the cost.
| Cost ÷ price move | Required wins | |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 0.2% | 50.4 |
| EURUSD | 0.9% | 51.9 |
| Natural gas | 10% | 71.0 |
Natural gas moves more than any other market in percent, but on natural gas you need to win 71 of 100 trades before you make any money. So the size of the move alone does not show where you have better odds, and the ranking divides the move by the cost.
Which Forex Pairs and Markets Are the Most Volatile?
Measured against its trading cost, gold is the most volatile market in ForexFanClub’s ranking, followed by the US100 and US30 stock indices. Over the last five trading days, gold moved $56 a day, about 449 times the round-trip cost of a typical trading account after the rebate.
Last 5 trading days
| Price move a day | Times its cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | $56 (1.3%) | ×449 |
| US100 (Nasdaq) | 418 points (1.4%) | ×359 |
| US30 (Dow) | 531 points (1.0%) | ×284 |
| EURUSD | 63 pips (0.56%) | ×108 |
| USDJPY | 55 pips (0.35%) | ×58 |
| Natural gas | $0.12 (3.8%) | ×9.5 |
In percent, natural gas, Ethereum and silver move the most, but the daily price move of natural gas was only 9.5 times its trading cost.
Which Currency Pairs Move the Most?
Among the 28 major and cross currency pairs, GBPJPY moves the most pips, about 97 pips a day over the last 20 trading days. EURJPY and CHFJPY come next, so if you want big moves in pips, the yen pairs are where you find them.
However, a GBPJPY trade also costs more. On a typical trading account its round trip costs about 2.1 pips after the rebate, 3.5 times the cost of EURUSD, so EURUSD gives you more move for its cost even though it moves fewer pips.
Last 20 trading days
| GBPJPY | EURUSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Price move a day | 97 pips | 54 pips |
| Trading cost | 2.1 pips | 0.6 pips |
| Times its cost | ×47 | ×92 |
EURUSD has the highest move ÷ cost of all 28 currency pairs, at about 92 times, and USDJPY comes next. So GBPJPY is the pair for big moves in pips, while EURUSD gives you the most move for what you pay.
Which Pairs Move Most in the Tokyo, London and New York Sessions?
Gold and US100 rank in the top three by move ÷ cost in all three trading sessions, and EURUSD is the currency pair with the highest move ÷ cost in each of them. The sessions overlap, so one market’s shares can add up to more than 100%.
London hours (07:00–16:00 UTC), average of the last 5 trading days
- 1Gold64% of the day's move$36×289
- 2US100 (Nasdaq)53% of the day's move327 pts×288
- 3US30 (Dow)76% of the day's move404 pts×212
- 4GER40 (DAX)83% of the day's move278 pts×169
- 5Bitcoin60% of the day's move$1,324×138
- 6JP225 (Nikkei)48% of the day's move793 pts×110
- 7US500 (S&P)52% of the day's move45 pts×88
- 8Brent Oil64% of the day's move$2.53×82
US30 leads the ranking in London and New York hours, and it makes 81% of its daily move in New York hours. So the US indices suit you when you can trade in New York hours, while gold ranks near the top in every session.
Inside each session, some hours move much more than others. Our best time to trade map shows which hours of the day move the most for the spread you pay, in your own time zone.
How Do You Choose a Market to Trade From This Ranking?
Markets near the top of the ranking cost the least for how far they move, but they also move the most, so choose your lot size before you trade one of them. The same daily move that makes a market cheap to trade also decides how much your balance can swing.
For example, on 0.01 lot an average day’s move on gold is worth about $56, while on EURUSD it is worth about $6. So with a small balance, EURUSD keeps the swings small, while a gold trade needs a stop-loss and a lot size that you plan first. The lot size calculator turns your stop-loss and the dollars you are ready to lose into a lot size.
US30 and US100 are second and third in the ranking, and their moves are counted in points instead of pips. Before your first index trade, check what 1 point is worth on your lot size with the pip calculator.
We rank the markets by move ÷ cost because the cost is the part of your odds that you can choose before you trade. However, the ranking does not tell you which way the price will go, so the lot size is what keeps a losing trade small.
How Is the Ranking Calculated?
ForexFanClub’s ranking divides each market’s average daily move by the round-trip cost of a typical trading account after the rebate, for 41 markets: 28 currency pairs, gold, silver, six stock indices, three energy markets and two cryptocurrencies.
How the ranking is built
- Move
- The gap between the highest and lowest price of a trading day. The 5-day and 20-day figures are averages of those days.
- Prices
- Read every 30 minutes from our own MT5 accounts at XM, HFM and Exness. The ranking uses the middle value of the three.
- Trading day
- Ends at the New York close, at 21:00 UTC in summer and 22:00 UTC in winter.
- Cost
- Spread plus commission for one round trip, from the 24-hour average spreads of 13 trading accounts at XM, HFM, XS and Exness. The ForexFanClub rebate is then taken off this cost.
- Typical trading account
- The median cost of the 13 accounts. Tap a row in the ranking for the cheapest account at each broker. The lowest spread comparison compares these accounts on every instrument.
- How often it updates
- Every 5 minutes. The same figures are in a JSON file, latest.json.
Reading every 30 minutes misses some of the highs and lows. When we compared the 30-minute moves with one-minute prices on the 28 currency pairs, the 30-minute move was 86% of the real one, so every move in the ranking is on the low side.
Questions People Ask About the Volatility Ranking
- Why are some moves in pips and others in dollars or points?
-
Each market is counted in the unit traders use for it: pips for currency pairs, dollars for gold, silver, oil, gas and crypto, and points for stock indices.
The move ÷ cost figure has no unit, so you can compare a currency pair with gold or an index directly.
- Why is the dollar value of 1 lot different at each broker?
-
Each broker sets its own size of 1 lot on some markets, such as oil, silver and the Nikkei 225. For example, 1 lot of US oil at XS and Exness is ten times the size of 1 lot at XM and HFM, so the same move is worth ten times as many dollars.
The move ÷ cost figure stays the same whatever the size of 1 lot, so it compares the brokers fairly. To see the dollars for your own lot size, use the pip calculator.
- Does the order of the ranking change often?
-
The trading costs update every 5 minutes, but the price moves change only when a trading day closes, so the order changes slowly. In the 20-day view, gold, US100 and US30 hold the top three places too.
The 1-day button changes the most, because it shows only one trading day.
Which Page Do You Need Next?
If you have picked a market, the lot size calculator turns your stop-loss and the dollars you are ready to lose into a lot size. The pip calculator shows what each pip or point is worth, and the currency strength meter shows which currencies are moving today.
Once your rebate account is open, link it to Forex FanClub. The member area lists every rebate payment day by day, across every broker you use. Registration is free and takes an email address.
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Person responsible: Hiroki Sakaida, founder of Forex FanClub
Hiroki Sakaida decides what our content and services cover and which features they offer. He also checks content and functionality and decides on revisions and publication. Our Content and Service Policy explains how we produce and check our content and services, including our use of AI.
Risk warning: Forex and CFD trading involve leverage, and you could lose all the money you invest. This article and tool provide information, not investment advice. The amounts shown are calculated from the collected data and do not guarantee the amounts that will apply to your own trades, or any future profit.
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- Why Compare Volatility With Trading Cost?
- Which Forex Pairs and Markets Are the Most Volatile?
- Which Currency Pairs Move the Most?
- Which Pairs Move Most in the Tokyo, London and New York Sessions?
- How Do You Choose a Market to Trade From This Ranking?
- How Is the Ranking Calculated?
- Questions People Ask About the Volatility Ranking
- Which Page Do You Need Next?