I recently did some currency trades all of which I closed but negative balances of varying amounts in those currencies appear in my "cash balances." I am trying to figure out why these amounts shows up there even after trades are closed and what action is required on my part to make sure I am still not in a currency position. For example, I had a long USD/MXN position which I closed, and my virtual FX portfolio shows no position, but under my cash balances I am seeing -1k (I have the app set to convert all amounts to my base currency, USD). Does this mean I still have a -1k position short MXN? If so, why doesn't this show up in my virtual FX portfolio? Thanks for your help
I would suggest going to your account portal and at where you get account statements. There is a cash report section that explain how the cash balance of different currency changes. https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/software/reportguide/reportguide/cashreport_default.htm For example when you long USD/MXN, this trade add USD cash and subtract MXN cash. Then when you close the position the reverse happens. Most likely if you have negative MXN cash afterwards it is because your trade have lost money.