EURUSD is usually around 1 pip - rarely 0.5, and frequently 1.5 pips. However, the bank quotes contain fractional pips which means that a 1.35050 bid could really be 1.35052. I don't trade CAD, but for EURJPY I'd say the average is about 3-3.5 pips - it happens that it's 1-2 pips, but with limited size - and also at other times it's as wide as 4-5 pips.
I have traded with IB, FXCM, Oanda, and now Advanced Markets. By far Oanda has the best spreads and even during crazy times like todays News - their spreads were the lowest.
Spread isn't everything. With the increased volatility in the currency markets, I'm getting a high percentage of my limit orders executed by IB with price improvement. Usually it's small but sometimes it's 1 to 2 pips! More than enough to cover their commission of 0.2 pips. I expect that most bucket shops implement your limit order at your order price but would be interested to know if other brokers offer such price improvement.
In my two weeks trading with MB trading I have received price improvement on my limit orders 43% of the time, whether placed inside the spread or when I am the ask or bid. Yes even though the commissions are high I feel more confident getting price improvement and not getting stopped out. Just an honest opinion of what I am getting with MB trading so far. I would recommend.
Crack kills, didn't they tell you! Oanda better spreads then IB, LMFAO, WHERE DO YOU PEOLPLE COME FROM. Anyways the EUR/USD spread during NY hours or London hours is 1 pip many times I see .5 pips. And while never using Oanda, I can't believe they have a better USD.CAD spread EVER, no matter what hours.
I see this as well. I think that this improvement is a function of the way the ECN works. While sitting limit in the book, as the market moves towards my order, there's a chance it will fill from someone else sending an order into the ECN. If it doesn't, I can watch the other side of the market move through, at which point, I believe my order gets routed into the Interbank space, probably as an aggregated MBT order at some price at or better than your limit. (I think this is why the account agreement indicates that MBT is the counterparty to trades, allowing them to aggregate orders to hit their interbank counterparties.) If the market continues past your limit order to the better, it seems that the price improvement is passed on. Happy day, I like it! Of course, this is speculation on my part. Certainly though, I have enjoyed the improvement just as you have. BTW, my OandA account was spread between 1.8 and 2.5 on the EUR/USD most of this morning.
I have a different theory as to why there's price improvement. There's no central market place for forex so if your broker is going to execute it in the interbank market (i.e. with a bank), the order remains on the broker's books until your limit price is reached or exceeded. The broker then sends the order to the bank making the quote on a fill or kill basis. As the banks change their quotes, it sometimes jumps over your limit price and you get the benefit of this. For Oanda users, how often do you get price improvement? The EUR/USD doesn't jump around much so this wouldn't be a good test. But on some of the crosses at least.