MetaTrader Tips – Pending Orders
Pending orders are the client’s commitment to the brokerage company to buy or sell a security at a pre-defined price in the future. This type of orders is used for the opening of a trade position provided the future price quotes reach the pre-defined level.
There are usually four types of pending orders available in the MetaTrader platform:
- Buy Limit — buy provided the future “ASK” price is equal to the pre-defined value. The current price level is higher than the value of the placed order. Orders of this type are usually placed in anticipation of that the security price, having fallen to a certain level, will increase.
- Buy Stop—buy provided the future “ASK” price is equal to the pre-defined value. The current price level is lower than the value of the placed order. Orders of this type are usually placed in anticipation of that the security price, having reached a certain level, will keep on increasing.
- Sell Limit — sell provided the future “BID” price is equal to the pre-defined value. The current price level is lower than the value of the placed order. Orders of this type are usually placed in anticipation of that the security price, having increased to a certain level, will fall.
- Sell Stop — sell provided the future “BID” price is equal to the pre-defined value. The current price level is higher than the value of the placed order. Orders of this type are usually placed in anticipation of that the security price, having reached a certain level, will keep on falling.

*Remember, in volatile market or fast-moving market conditions, stop-loss orders can become market orders and may be filled at the prevailing price, which may differ greatly from the desired price.

