Retail forex spreads in Australia and the UK have compressed to levels where brokers now compete on trade commissions and execution quality.
Retail forex brokers in Australia and the UK have driven spreads on major currency pairs like EUR/USD to such tight levels that further reductions are no longer viable as a competitive edge. The compression has rendered headline spreads ineffective as a differentiator for traders, according to market observations.
Previously, brokers competed aggressively on spread pricing, but most have now reached a floor where additional cuts are unsustainable. This shift has pushed competition toward two key areas: the quality of trade execution and the commission structures charged on forex transactions.
Brokers are increasingly promoting raw spread accounts, which offer tighter spreads but charge explicit commissions. Comparison platforms for ASIC- and FCA-regulated brokers now highlight execution speed, slippage rates, and commission fees as primary factors for traders evaluating brokerage services.