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The rollover rate, also called the swap, is the interest you pay or earn for keeping a forex position open past the daily cut-off. It comes from the gap between the two currencies’ interest rates, plus the broker’s markup.
A spot trade is meant to settle in two days. A retail broker does not deliver currency, so each night it rolls your position to the next day. When you hold a currency with a higher interest rate against one with a lower rate, you earn the difference. When it is the other way round, you pay it. Brokers add a markup, so on many pairs you pay on both sides.
Say US rates are 4% and euro rates are 2%. If you are long USD/JPY or short EUR/USD, you hold dollars and should earn about 2% a year on the position, before the broker’s markup. On a $10,000 position that is about $0.55 a night. Hold the opposite side and you pay it. The broker’s swap table shows the exact figure in points or in your account currency.
Most brokers charge three days of swap on Wednesday night to cover the weekend, because a trade rolled on Wednesday settles on Monday. Some charge it on Friday instead. Check your broker’s page.
Islamic or swap-free accounts replace the daily swap with a fixed fee or a wider spread after a set number of days. They are not free. Compare the total cost with the standard account before you pick one.
See spot FX for why the position has to roll, and use our fee calculator to add the swap to the spread and commission for a trade you plan to hold.
Because you held a position past the daily rollover time, usually 17:00 New York time, and the interest gap plus the broker’s markup went against you.
Yes. If you hold the higher-yielding currency and the gap is bigger than the broker’s markup, the swap is paid to you.
Sources: Broker swap tables, for example FOREX.com and Pepperstone, checked 25 September 2026. Checked 25 September 2026.
Risk warning: trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high risk of losing money. Most retail accounts lose money. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose.