<p>Horizontal spread, in the context of Forex trading, refers to the difference between the bid and ask prices of a currency pair at a given moment. It's a key concept for traders to understand, as it directly impacts their potential profit or loss.</p>

<h2>How It Works</h2>
<p>The horizontal spread is determined by the market liquidity and the broker's pricing model. Here's a simple breakdown:</p>
<ul>
  <li><strong>Bid Price</strong>: This is the price at which the broker is willing to buy a currency pair from you. It's always lower than the ask price.</li>
  <li><strong>Ask Price</strong>: This is the price at which the broker is willing to sell a currency pair to you. It's always higher than the bid price.</li>
  <li>The <strong>horizontal spread</strong> is the difference between the ask and bid prices. For example, if the bid price for EUR/USD is 1.18000 and the ask price is 1.18005, the horizontal spread is 0.00005.</li>
</ul>
<p>In the MetaTrader 5 platform, you can see the horizontal spread in real-time under the 'Market Watch' window, where the bid and ask prices are displayed for each currency pair.</p>

<h2>Why It Matters for Traders</h2>
<p>The horizontal spread is crucial for traders for several reasons:</p>
<ul>
  <li>It <strong>directly impacts your trading costs</strong>. A wider spread means higher costs, which can eat into your profits, especially on smaller trades.</li>
  <li>It <strong>affects your entry and exit points</strong>. You need to consider the spread when deciding where to place your stop-loss and take-profit orders.</li>
  <li>It <strong>can influence your trading strategy</strong>. Some strategies, like scalping, require tight spreads to be profitable. Others, like long-term trend following, are less affected by spread costs.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Example</h2>
<p>Let's say you're trading EUR/USD with STB Provider, which offers a typical horizontal spread of 1.2 pips on this pair. If you buy 100,000 units of EUR/USD, the cost would be 1.2 pips, or $12 (1.2 pips * $10 per pip). If the spread widens to 2.0 pips, your cost would increase to $20 per trade.</p>

<h2>Key Takeaways</h2>
<ul>
  <li>The horizontal spread is the difference between the bid and ask prices of a currency pair.</li>
  <li>It's a key cost for traders, as it impacts potential profits and influences trading strategies.</li>
  <li>Traders should consider the horizontal spread when choosing a broker and developing their trading strategy.</li>
  <li>MetaTrader 5 and STB Provider offer real-time horizontal spread information to help traders make informed decisions.</li>
</ul>