trading less than one lot (forex)

[onnb1]

hi all,

Does NT generally support trading with sizes less than one lot in the currencies?

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello,

Thank you for the question.

NinjaTrader its self can work in increments of 1, but would depend on your broker if that quantity would be a valid quantity for a lot.

Using the user interface you can define a specific value or you can use the Lot specify syntax like 0.1M. In a strategy the standard number system only would apply so increments of 1 or for example 1000 or 5000 etc.

I look forward to being of further assistance.

[onnb1]

hi and thanks for the follow up

Just to see we are talking about the same thing.
1 standard lot is 100,000 units

Say I want issue an order for a micro lot which is 1,000 units.
In the order quantity field, I would put 1,000?

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello,

From a strategy or in NinjaScript, you would enter the number of units rather than the Lot, so a micro lot of 1000 would be 1000.

Only from the user interface like the ChartTrader you would use the short hand or number followed by M.

I look forward to being of further assistance.

[onnb1]

hi - following up on this, I see the following in the docs


Specifically, when running on Live Brokerage Connection, it is my understanding that the quantities submitted are treated as the number of lots and not the number of units.

Is that understanding correct?
If so, back to asking: "How do I submit micro/mini lots?"

Say my broker has standard lot of 100,000 and I want to submit an order for 1,000. In the UI I can specify 0.01 but with strategy I cannot - am I missing something?

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello,

Thank you for the reply,

What the document is saying is that some brokers take quantities different than other brokers.

NinjaTrader platform would send the same number to the broker in any case, if you enter a quantity of 1 it would be sent to the broker as a quantity of 1.

The statement:

if your brokerage has a lot size of 1 that equals 100,000 units of the base currency (a "standard" lot) then use a value of 1 to trade 100,000 base units.

Would mean that in certain cases, your broker may convert 1 quantity to a 100,000 quantity as the example.

This is broker dependent, this would be an item to clarify with the broker on accepted quantities and lot sizes.

Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

[onnb1]

Understood.

What I want to confirm is that when I am running in replay, the input is the # of units/contracts.
When I am running in live mode, the input is taken as the # of lots.

Can you confirm that my understanding of this is correct?

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello,

Are you referring to the user interface or from script?

From script will always be the same but depends on your broker, if your broker asks for a value of 1 for a 100,000 lot, you would use 1, if instead the broker does not use this system you would enter 100000.

From the user interface, you would use the lot sizes.

Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

[onnb1]

Sorry - everything in this thread is about running an automated strategy.

http://ninjatrader.com/support/helpGuides/nt7/?running_fx_strategies.htm

From this I understand that they are not the same and that when using a live feed, the quantity field in the api is the # of lots. When running in replay, the quantity field is treated as units. This implies that in real time with a live account, I cannot create an order for a fraction of 1 lot.

Sorry if I have not been clear.

[NinjaTrader_Jesse]

Hello,

In a strategy you only can enter a number of contracts for the quantity, If you are submitting a full lot or 100,000, in the code for a strategy you would enter 100,000.

If you contact your broker and ask what lot sizes they accept, you could further address if that would work or not in your script.

If the broker says you can submit lots in multiples of 1000, the minimum you could use from script would be a quantity of 1000 or any number above that in which is a multiple of 1000.


Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.

[onnb1]

Interesting, you realize that this is different than what the docs say.

Running FX NinjaScript Strategies on a Live Brokerage Connection
Running an FX strategy on a live brokerage connection either in a live funded account or a simulation (Sim101) account order quantities will reflect the lot size convention that your brokerage trades in. For example, if your brokerage has a lot size of 1 that equals 100,000 units of the base currency (a "standard" lot) then use a value of 1 to trade 100,000 base units.

[NinjaTrader_PatrickH]

Hello onnb1,

Thank you for your response.

We have to look at things based on what would be accepted by the brokerage technology. So there are actually a few cases here.

For example, let's say that when the brokerage technology receives a order with a quantity of 1 then automatically converts that to 1,000 (mico), 10,000 (mini), or 100,000 (regular/full). Then in our script we need to set the quantity to the value of 1.

However, the brokerage technology may take the value literal - which means 1 would equal 1 unit. So you would have your script submit the full unit value (1,000 (mico), 10,000 (mini), or 100,000 (regular/full)).

So the documentation is correct, and you would need to contact your broker to find out if a value of 1 represents 1 lot (micro, mini, or full) or if it equals 1 unit.