Rollover in forex trading explained
By Ken Chigbo, Founder, KenMacro. Published 2026-05-13.
Quick answer
Rollover is the process by which a forex broker rolls an open position from one value date to the next, applying an interest credit or debit based on the difference between the two currencies’ overnight rates. It occurs at 5pm New York time and is the mechanism behind overnight swap charges.
What is rollover?
Rollover refers to the automatic extension of a spot forex position’s settlement date to the next business day. Spot forex trades technically settle T+2, so any position held past the daily cut-off at 5pm New York time must be rolled to a new value date. During this process, the broker calculates an interest adjustment reflecting the overnight rate differential between the long currency and the short currency. The result is a swap charge or credit posted to the trader’s account. Rollover applies to all open positions on retail platforms and is distinct from the bid-ask spread or commission.
How traders use rollover
Retail traders monitor rollover because it materially affects the cost of holding positions beyond a single session. Carry-focused participants deliberately position long in higher-yielding currencies against lower-yielding ones to harvest positive swap, a strategy common in AUD, NZD, MXN, and ZAR crosses during high rate differential regimes. Conversely, traders shorting high-yielders face daily debits that compound over time. Institutional desks price rollover off tom-next swap points quoted in the interbank market, while retail brokers apply a markup. Wednesday rollover is triple-sized to account for the weekend settlement gap. The desk checks the swap table before initiating any position intended to be held more than 48 hours, since swap costs on leveraged size can exceed the daily range of the pair.
Worked example of rollover on a EUR/USD position
Consider a trader long one standard lot of EUR/USD held past 5pm New York. If the euro overnight rate sits below the dollar overnight rate, the trader is long the lower-yielding currency and will be debited the differential. The broker references the tom-next swap points from its liquidity provider, adds its own markup, and posts a negative swap to the account. If the same trader were short EUR/USD instead, they would receive a credit, though typically smaller than the debit on the opposite side due to broker markup asymmetry. On Wednesday, this charge or credit is multiplied by three to cover Saturday and Sunday.
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Frequently asked
What time does forex rollover happen?
Rollover occurs at 5pm New York time, which corresponds to the close of the global forex trading day and the start of the next value date. This timing is set by interbank convention, not by individual brokers. Any position open at that moment is rolled forward and assessed a swap charge or credit. The exact local clock time shifts when New York switches between Eastern Standard Time and Eastern Daylight Time, so London-based traders see rollover at either 9pm or 10pm GMT.
Why is rollover triple on Wednesday?
Spot forex settles T+2, meaning a trade executed Wednesday settles Friday. A position rolled on Wednesday evening must therefore advance its settlement to Monday, skipping the weekend. To compensate for the three calendar days of interest accrual, brokers apply a triple swap charge or credit. This convention is standardised across the interbank market. Some brokers shift triple swap to Friday instead, though Wednesday remains the most common practice on retail platforms.
Can rollover be avoided?
Yes, by closing all positions before the 5pm New York cut-off. Day traders and scalpers routinely avoid rollover entirely by flattening books before the daily close. Swap-free or Islamic accounts also remove rollover interest, though brokers typically replace it with an administration fee on positions held beyond a grace period of several days. CFD index and commodity positions are subject to similar overnight financing charges calculated against benchmark rates rather than currency differentials.
Is positive rollover guaranteed when long a higher-yielding currency?
Not necessarily. Brokers apply a markup to the interbank tom-next swap, and that markup often turns what would be a small positive carry into a small negative or near-zero credit at the retail level. The asymmetry between the long-side and short-side swap on the same pair reveals the broker’s margin. Traders pursuing carry strategies should compare swap tables across brokers, since the same EUR/TRY or AUD/JPY position can produce materially different daily cash flows depending on the provider.
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