USDZAR pip value, lot size and commission
US dollar / South African rand on MetaTrader 5: what one pip is worth, how many lots to trade for the risk you choose, the commission on each plan and the rules that apply.
- $0.54one pip on 1.00 lot
- 100,000USD in one lot
- $5commission, Edge · $4 Prime
- Symbol
- USDZAR on MetaTrader 5
- Market
- Forex, exotic
- Contract size
- 100,000 USD per lot
- Price step (point)
- 0.00001
- Pip
- 0.0001 (fourth decimal)
- Commission
- $5 Edge and Instant, $4 Prime, per lot round turn
- Margin, 1.00 lot
- $1,000 at 1:100, $4,000 at 1:25, at the example price 18.5000
Standard across MetaTrader 5 servers. The terminal's Specification (right-click the symbol in Market Watch) shows the exact figures for your account.
What USDZAR is
US dollar / South African rand
USDZAR is the US dollar priced in South African rand: a price of 18.5000 means one US dollar costs 18.5000 South African rand. It is an exotic pair: a major currency against a smaller or emerging-market one, usually with wider spreads and larger swaps than the majors.
When it trades
Forex trades around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday evening, New York time. USDZAR is busiest when New York and London are open, and most of all where two sessions overlap.
USDZAR pip value, step by step
Find the pip
A pip on USDZAR is 0.0001, the fourth decimal place. MetaTrader 5 quotes one more digit, so a point is a tenth of a pip (0.00001).
Multiply by the lot
One standard lot is 100,000 US dollars, so a pip is 0.0001 × 100,000 = 10 ZAR per lot; 0.10 lot is a tenth of that, 0.01 lot a hundredth.
Convert to dollars
The quote currency is South African rand, so divide by the price: at 18.5000, 10 ÷ 18.5000 = $0.54. The dollar value moves with the price.
USDZAR: one pip and common moves, by lot size
Risking 1% of $100,000 with a 400-pip stop
One lot loses $216.22 if a stop 400 pips away is hit (400 pips × $0.54 a pip). Risking 1% of a $100,000 account, $1,000, buys $1,000 ÷ $216.22 = 4.62 lots, rounded down to the 0.01 lot step.
The $1,000 is a quarter of the $4,000 Max Daily Loss on a $100K Edge 1 Step, so four such losses in one day would reach it. Example price 18.5000: a round figure for the arithmetic, not a quote.
Commission, leverage and margin on every CFD plan
Commission is round turn: half when the trade opens, half when it closes, the same in the evaluation and once funded. Margin is the position value divided by the plan's leverage ceiling, for 1.00 lot at the example price of 18.5000 ($100,000 of USD); the margin MetaTrader 5 shows when you place the order is the one that applies.
| Plan | Commission | Per side | Leverage | Margin, 1.00 lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge 1 Step | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:100 | $1,000 |
| Edge 2 Step | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:100 | $1,000 |
| Instant Pro | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:33 | $3,030 |
| Instant Go | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:25 | $4,000 |
| Prime 1 Step | $4 per lot | $2.00 | 1:50 | $2,000 |
| Prime 2 Step | $4 per lot | $2.00 | 1:100 | $1,000 |
For education. Figures are arithmetic on the contract specification and an example price; the specification, price, spread and commission on your platform decide real results. Nothing here is financial advice, and trading leveraged products can lose money.
Rules that apply when you trade USDZAR
Max. Exposure
Every open position counts at its full value against a cap set by account size: $1,250,000 on $100K. At the example price one lot of USDZAR is $100,000, so about 12.50 lots fill the whole cap with nothing else open. Going over is a warning, and resets any profit to the starting balance; a second closes the account.
The ruleNews trading
Allowed on every CFD plan. Not allowed: straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike. It is reviewed by the risk desk, never penalised automatically.
FOMC rate decisionNon-Farm Payrolls (NFP)US CPIPCE inflationUS GDPUS retail salesEconomic calendarWeekend holding
With the Weekend Holding add-on, keep USDZAR open over the weekend. Without it, positions still open at 4:45 PM New York time on Friday are closed by the system: the first time is a warning, the second closes the account.
The ruleThe thin-liquidity window
At most 20% of your profit may come from trades opened and closed between 21:00:00 and 22:59:59 UTC, every night, on every instrument. While it is over, payouts on that account are paused; once profit from outside the window brings the share back inside the limit, they open again by themselves. Overnight holding is allowed; swaps count like any other cost.
The ruleUSDZAR: questions
What is the pip value of USDZAR?
$0.54 per pip on 1.00 lot at a price of 18.5000, $0.05 on 0.10 lot and $0.0054 on 0.01 lot. A pip on USDZAR is 0.0001.
What lot size should I trade on USDZAR with a $100K account?
Risking 1% ($1,000) with a stop of 400 pips: $1,000 ÷ $216.22 per lot = 4.62 lots. Halve the risk and the lots halve with it. The stop decides the size, not the account.
What is the commission on USDZAR at WhitePips?
$5 per lot, round turn, on Edge and Instant, and $4 on Prime: $2.50 when the trade opens and $2.50 when it closes on Edge. The same in the evaluation and once funded.
What leverage can I use on USDZAR?
The plan's leverage ceiling: 1:100 on Edge 1 Step, 1:100 on Edge 2 Step, 1:33 on Instant Pro, 1:25 on Instant Go, 1:50 on Prime 1 Step, 1:100 on Prime 2 Step. One lot at 18.5000 is $100,000, so it holds $1,000 of margin at 1:100 and $4,000 at 1:25. In practice Max. Exposure sizes positions first: about 12.50 lots of USDZAR on a $100K account.
Can I trade USDZAR around news at WhitePips?
Yes, on every CFD plan. What is not allowed is straddling: positions in both directions, or offsetting positions on correlated instruments, within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike. The risk desk reviews it; it is never penalised automatically.
Put the numbers to work
Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. No time limit on any evaluation.