Requotes: Why They Happen and What to Do
A requote is the broker asking you to confirm a trade at a new price because the one you requested is no longer current. Formally a courteous mechanism; practically a delay at the moment when seconds count.
Where requotes come from
A requote is possible where the broker is obliged to fill at the price shown — that is, under instant execution. If price has moved between your click and the order reaching the server, filling at the promised price is impossible, and instead of a fill you receive a request to confirm a new one. The causes of the move are ordinary: fast movement, a news release, connection latency.
Requote versus slippage
These are two different answers to the same situation. With a requote the broker asks for consent and waits for your decision — no trade happens until you confirm. With slippage the broker fills immediately but at the actual price, which may be worse. The first preserves control over price at the cost of time; the second preserves time at the cost of price. Which is worse depends on the strategy: for scalping the delay is usually more expensive than a few pips.
What you can configure
The main lever is maximum deviation, also called maximum slippage: you permit the trade to fill if price has moved no further than a set number of pips. Too narrow a value produces rejections and requotes; too wide a value produces fills at a noticeably worse price. A sensible value depends on the instrument and the hour: tighter in calm periods, wider around releases or no trading at all.
When settings are not the problem
Systematic requotes precisely at the moments favourable to you, and their absence the rest of the time, is no longer a technical issue but a market one. What helps here is not configuration but verification: the execution type in the account specification, real statistics from your own trades, and — if the pattern holds — a change of broker. Occasional requotes on news are normal; systematic one-sided ones are not.
This material is educational and is not individual investment advice. Trading forex carries the risk of losing capital.
Frequently asked questions
Why do requotes happen?
Because under instant execution the broker is obliged to fill at the price shown. If price moves while the order is in transit, it cannot do so and offers a new price for confirmation.
How does a requote differ from slippage?
A requote is a request for confirmation and the trade waits for your decision. Slippage is an immediate fill at the actual price with no question asked. The first costs time, the second costs price.
How do I reduce requotes?
Increase the maximum deviation in the order settings and avoid trading at the moment of releases. If requotes occur systematically and only at moments favourable to you, the problem lies in the broker's conditions rather than your settings.
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