What are Long and Short Positions?

Review Trading Terms

What are Long and Short Positions?

Order and Execution

This article was :

Published in 2025.03.11

Updated in 2025.04.02

"Long" or "Short" refers to holding a buy position (Long) or a sell position (Short) in FX or CFD trading.

Long Position

A long position refers to holding a buy (BUY) position. Traders buy an asset expecting its price to rise, then sell it at a higher price to make a profit.

For example, if you buy 0.1 lot (10,000 units) of USD/JPY at 150 and sell it at 151, you make a 10,000 JPY profit. However, if the price drops to 149, you incur a 10,000 JPY loss.

Short Position

A short position refers to holding a sell (SELL) position. Traders sell an asset expecting its price to drop, then buy it back at a lower price to make a profit.

For example, if you sell 0.1 lot (10,000 units) of USD/JPY at 150 and buy it back at 149, you make a 10,000 JPY profit. However, if the price rises to 151, you incur a 10,000 JPY loss.

KNOWLEDGE

A position refers to an open trade held after order execution until it is closed.

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