MT5 profit currency vs account currency: why your result shifts

How MT5 converts a trade's profit into your account currency, three hypothetical examples and a short checklist for reviewing converted results.

Open the MetaTrader 5 history on an account denominated in euros after trading a dollar-quoted pair, and the Profit column is already in euros. The platform did a conversion for you, and it did it at a rate you never saw. For a trader who keeps a journal, this matters whenever a result differs from the arithmetic you did in your head, or when the same trade on two accounts in different currencies shows two different numbers. This page explains the difference between the profit currency of a symbol and the currency of your account, shows three hypothetical examples, and lists what to record so the conversion never surprises you again.

Three currencies in every trade

A single trade can involve three currencies. The base currency of a forex pair is the one you buy or sell. The profit currency (usually the quote currency) is the one in which the price difference is first expressed. The account currency is the one your balance is held in. When the profit currency and the account currency are the same, nothing needs converting. When they differ, MT5 converts the profit into your account currency using a rate chosen by the platform, and the converted number is what lands in your history.

Worked example 1: a yen pair on a dollar account (hypothetical)

A buy of 0.10 lots on USDJPY at 150.000, closed at 150.500. With a contract size of 100,000 units the position is 10,000 US dollars. The move is 0.500 yen per dollar, so the profit is 0.500 × 10,000 = 5,000 yen. To show this in dollars, MT5 divides by the USDJPY rate near the close, about 150.5. The result is roughly 33.22 dollars. If the rate had been 148, the same 5,000 yen would convert to 33.78. The yen profit is fixed by the price move; the dollar figure depends on the rate at the moment of conversion.

Worked example 2: a dollar pair on a euro account (hypothetical)

A sell of 0.20 lots on EURUSD at 1.08000, closed at 1.07500, gives 0.00500 × 20,000 = 100.00 dollars. On a euro account, MT5 converts that using the EURUSD rate at the close. If the rate is 1.0750, the euro figure is about 93.02. The trader’s plan said “risk 100”, and the stop loss was set so that a loss would be 100 in the profit currency. On a euro account the same stop loses about 93, a small mismatch caused entirely by the currency of the account.

Worked example 3: gold on a pound account (hypothetical)

A buy of 0.05 lots on XAUUSD with a contract size of 100 ounces covers 5 ounces. A 12.00 dollar move makes 60.00 dollars. On a pound account that becomes about 48 pounds if one pound buys 1.25 dollars at the close. A week later the same dollar profit would convert to a different pound figure if the rate has moved. This is why dollar-priced instruments produce slightly different account results over time even for identical price moves. The gold side of the story is covered in our gold trading journal guide and gold pip value explained.

Which rate does MT5 use?

The exact rate, and whether it is taken at the open, the close or another moment, is decided by your broker’s server and its conversion symbols. In general the profit is converted at the rates prevailing when the position is closed, but because this is a server-side setting, the reliable approach is to test it: take one closed trade, calculate the profit in the profit currency using the steps in how MT5 calculates profit, divide or multiply by the rate shown on the chart at the close time, and compare with the history. A small gap is normal. A large gap points to a different contract size or a partial close.

Why this matters for risk and for review

• Risk per trade. A stop sized in one currency risks a slightly different amount in your account currency when the rate moves. Use the position size calculator with the pip value in your account currency.
• Comparing accounts. Two accounts in different currencies cannot be compared by raw profit; compare in R multiples or percentages instead. The R-multiple calculator helps.
• Tracking costs. Commission and swap are also charged in the account currency, so costs and profit end up together in one figure. See commission and swap.
• Statistics. Win rate does not change, but average win, average loss and profit factor use converted values, so they drift a little with the rate.

A short record to keep per trade

You do not need to log every rate. Record the account currency in your journal’s account name, note the profit currency in the trade notes when it differs from the account currency, and add a screenshot of the chart at the close if you care about the exact rate. When you review a month, scan for trades where the symbol’s profit currency differs from the account currency and treat small differences from your own calculation as expected.

Where a journal fits

AI Trading Journal reads the result that MetaTrader 5 recorded, so its numbers match the History tab and use your account currency. It combines profit, commission and swap into one figure per closed position, merges partial closes and dates each entry by the last exit on the broker’s clock. If you trade several accounts in different currencies, each account has its own journal, which keeps the totals in the right currency. It is a Windows app for MT5, read-only, and the journal is a file on your PC. Read multi-account journaling for how accounts are kept apart.

Limits of this page

• Conversion rules and rates are set by your broker; confirm them with a test trade.
• The examples use rounded, hypothetical rates and are not a prediction of any real result.
• Futures and some exchange symbols use other profit calculation modes not covered here.
• This is not trading advice.

Frequently asked questions

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