MT4 and IG Index price discrepancies

[ffchaci]

Hi,
I have recently installed and set up Metatrader 4 as it is a charting package which some indicators provided by a 'program' I purchased are set up on.
I currently use IG Index as my spread betting brokers and am wanting to trade Forex.
I see that on MT4, although I am getting the live prices, a) The time seems an hour ahead, and b) The prices quoted on MT4 are different to the mid prices from IG Index.
For example.. The OHLC from MT4 is 13837.7, 13849.9, 13795.0, 13799.9
vs. the OHLC from IG of 13830.3, 13841.9, 13763.2, 13770.0
The low and close figures are both nearly 30 pips out!

Any help or clarification would be much appreciated. I haven'y actually began trading this 'program' yet and wanted to at least have confidence in my charting package before I did.
Thank you guys.

Leo

 

[TheBramble]

Whichever data provider you are using to feed your MT4 is based on CET not GMT.

SB companies make their own prices which don't necessarily reflect the interbank rate.

 

[brettus]

Their 4 hour bars start from different times of the day. Daily ones? IG is open from 9pm on sunday, whereas most MT4 brokers are open from 10-11pm.

 

[ffchaci]

Ahh ok I see. What I was worried about is if I see I trade opportunity on my MT4 chart and wanted to use the low of that final candle, would I be able to use the low of the candle in IG Index as an order level!? I couldn't use the value as they are too different.
Thank you for your help. I'll get there one day!
Leo

 

[Mornington Crescent]

not when IG are gunning for stops

same problem applies at tops

 

[Yuppie13]

not when IG are gunning for stops

same problem applies at tops

IG INdex is the worst SB company. I use them only for trading stocks as they have a broad market. With regards to stops they are criminal. If you trade commodities or forex they will just widen the spread when it gets volatile, meaning you will get stopped out when there was no actual price around the level, even adding their "normal" spread to it.

If you trade oil, silver or gold as I do, Worldspreads is a good choice - you have the occasional "trade referral" if you trade big lots, but their price feed is not as erratic as IG, meaning some "quotes" (i.e. ripoff stop fishing) will not appear. Also their spread stays stable and with stops there is no slippage.

Cheers,
Yuppie13

 

[Ross Spur]

It's always seemed to be the case that IG's prices move even when the underlying stays the same, possibly because their quotes are derived from (or skewed by) more than one market.

 

[tar]

IG INdex is the worst SB company. I use them only for trading stocks as they have a broad market. With regards to stops they are criminal. If you trade commodities or forex they will just widen the spread when it gets volatile, meaning you will get stopped out when there was no actual price around the level, even adding their "normal" spread to it.

If you trade oil, silver or gold as I do, Worldspreads is a good choice - you have the occasional "trade referral" if you trade big lots, but their price feed is not as erratic as IG, meaning some "quotes" (i.e. ripoff stop fishing) will not appear. Also their spread stays stable and with stops there is no slippage.

Cheers,
Yuppie13

@ spread widening : sometimes i trade with IG didnt c spread widening as u mention , it happens very rarely on forex at news time only for a few pips , IG is the best among SB brokers ...

 

[Mornington Crescent]

the real issue is that there is no central clearing for forex

so it depends on which group of banks are used by individual SB's

CMC and IG are also both market makers in their own right

 

[tar]

the real issue is that there is no central clearing for forex

so it depends on which group of banks are used by individual SB's

CMC and IG are also both market makers in their own right

but they cant be out of line , otherwise this will open the door for arbitrage opportunists

 

[Mornington Crescent]

sure
but that's not the same as saying they are identical

dont think there is much of a future in trying to abitrage sb companies quotes


for the majors they usually have overlapping spread quotes

 

[Gromito]

I started out with IG but will never go back - always felt I was getting stopped out on spikes - it was unbelievable the amount of times when a price will just hit your stop in forex or commods and then reverse.

I was a newbie then and used stops that were too close but even then the feeling was overwhelming.

Moved over to LCG/TF and never looked back since

IG do have a much broader market especially for equities but I don't fooking trust them!

 

[Trevor2522]

I started out with IG but will never go back - always felt I was getting stopped out on spikes - it was unbelievable the amount of times when a price will just hit your stop in forex or commods and then reverse.

Me too. CMC was just as bad. Suspect their software momentarily broadens spreads to take out vulnerable-looking stops. Of course they have to do it in a subtle manner which clients are unlikely to challenge. But yes -- it's uncanny how one's stops are so often just one pip too close to market.

Whose charting package do you use? Free from IG for 4 trades a month.

 

[random12345]

Very odd how people never mention how often price misses their stop by 1-2 pips before reversing on both DMA and spread betting...

It happens to me 2 or 3 times a day. I must be the luckiest man alive.

 

[pboyles]

Very odd how people never mention how often price misses their stop by 1-2 pips before reversing on both DMA and spread betting...

It happens to me 2 or 3 times a day. I must be the luckiest man alive.

Well if you look at the virtual dealer plugin for MT4 you'll see that it has functionality for creating spikes. Many brokers have been fined for defrauding clients so I think there's no argument about whether or not they will cheat some of the time. A year or two ago you'd have been shouted down for suggesting such a thing and told it was all your own fault, now we know the truth.

 

[random12345]

Well if you look at the virtual dealer plugin for MT4 you'll see that it has functionality for creating spikes. Many brokers have been fined for defrauding clients so I think there's no argument about whether or not they will cheat some of the time. A year or two ago you'd have been shouted down for suggesting such a thing and told it was all your own fault, now we know the truth.

My point was more that a lot of inexperience comes into play when people think they're being screwed around and personally I'd bet on that before I bet on broker trickery. I've read somewhat into what you're referring to re the plugin and I don't doubt that such things happen, but human flaws are so much more reliable.

Now that we all know the truth though - everyone on the thread, including yourself, can switch to IB or LMAX and become monstrously wealthy.

 

[pboyles]

My point was more that a lot of inexperience comes into play when people think they're being screwed around and personally I'd bet on that before I bet on broker trickery. I've read somewhat into what you're referring to re the plugin and I don't doubt that such things happen, but human flaws are so much more reliable.

Now that we all know the truth though - everyone on the thread, including yourself, can switch to IB or LMAX and become monstrously wealthy.

FXCM took about $6 million from US clients alone, we know this because they were fined and ordered to pay it back. I doubt the others are any better, perhaps just better at not getting caught.

 

[random12345]

FXCM took about $6 million from US clients alone, we know this because they were fined and ordered to pay it back. I doubt the others are any better, perhaps just better at not getting caught.

Much as you keep good records and have good knowledge pboyles, your own animosity at this industry limits your use on the profit making side... I too hate pretty much everyone involved in this seedy cesspit of an industry, however I wouldn't be here if it weren't possible to make very good money without simply holding some ETF long. So you're saying my two examples, IB and LMAX, are crooked?

Why have they not yet sorted me (and quite a few others...) out and when will it happen? And how? The complexities of doing so are mind boggling. I'm not a discretionary single position trader. Ah perhaps that's how I've avoided the buggery stick. Because I'm so much smarter than everyone else....

I kinda doubt it though.

 

[pboyles]

Much as you keep good records and have good knowledge pboyles, your own animosity at this industry limits your use on the profit making side... I too hate pretty much everyone involved in this seedy cesspit of an industry, however I wouldn't be here if it weren't possible to make very good money without simply holding some ETF long. So you're saying my two examples, IB and LMAX, are crooked?

Why have they not yet sorted me (and quite a few others...) out and when will it happen? And how? The complexities of doing so are mind boggling. I'm not a discretionary single position trader. Ah perhaps that's how I've avoided the buggery stick. Because I'm so much smarter than everyone else....

I kinda doubt it though.

I don't think fxcm were cleaning out accounts, they were slipping people a few pips here and there using the plugin. Plenty of others have been caught at it too, I seriously doubt there is a broker that is not abusing their clients in some way or other.

Would you even know if your broker was stealing from you or would you just accept the old and now discredited excuse that slippage is natural and not broker induced?

 

[pboyles]

Much as you keep good records and have good knowledge pboyles, your own animosity at this industry limits your use on the profit making side... .

You are correct, I am focused on loss prevention rather than profit making.