Hi guys,

TL;DR:
When pulling spread for EUR/USD using IC Markets MT4 Bridge, get 0.01 which is
Zorro: v.2.35, free
Broker: IC Markets, spread account
Connection: MT4 bridge

Long version:
I am trying to replicate Z1 results. My first step is to fill AssetsFix with realistic values, so I pulled all symbols available in MT4 to csv file. Next I am loading this file to Zorro and looping through symbols, to load approperiate parameters to Logs/Assets.csv.
I print some of the params while pulling:
[img]https://imgur.com/wNLSCIV[/img]
Corresponding entry in Assets.csv:
[img]https://imgur.com/eJ1WmCV[/img]

I checked in MT4, the spread was 0.0000 - 0.0001 at the time of pulling.

I found this in the manual, but not sure how it would apply to EUR/USD in this case:



and:


All of the above raises a question: why Zorro is pulling incorrect spread value? For other assets used by Z1, symbol parameters look reasonable. But I have ~160 symbols in AssetsFix.csv hence I would like to know the root cause of this behaviour, correct it, if needed, and be able to pull symbols' parameters automatically.

Any feedback/hints are much appreciated.

Most probably this is what MT4 is providing for EUR/USD . This might be a problem in Live trading since Zorro calculates Bid as Ask-Spread and long stops/short profit targets might get triggered prematurely.

For backtesting, just manually enter reasonably conservative Spread values for the top 10-20 instruments you might theoretically trade, set RollLong/Short either to 0 or to some fixed reasonable number (simulating rollover costs correctly requires a) historical swap data b) Zorro correctly applying those ( or you writing a script to do that) ).

Hey Zheka,

Thanks for your input.

I checked and MT4 is reporting correct spread on chart and in MQL, so I would assume that this correct value is being provided to Zorro.
Considering live trading - I hope that there are some people trading live using IC Markets and they will confirm if this problem perists.

On the backtesting: that is the key issue - I do not want to intervene into data being pulled by Zorro from the broker. I know that having correct data in the assets file is crucial for producing reliable (as much as they can be) backtests, hence I would prefer to have it in line what my broker reports or at least know the root cause of the discrepancy.

RollLong/RollShort should not have as high impact on results as spread (but please correct me if I am wrong).

"What's being pulled from the broker" - is just a 'single-point snapshot", not really representative of 'live trading costs' - both forward (for spreads) and backward (swaps).
With backtesting, you generally would want to minimize impact of 'other variables' on performance of the 'signal'.
So, unless your strategy is very short-term or very long-term, it makes sense to "hold other things equal".

I pulled data few times and although other parameters change, spread for EUR/USD was 0.01 every time. This is clearly error and undermines my trust to any other value in assets file.
Spread for EUR/USD being at least 100 times higher than it should be is only one stark example. It changes AR for Z1 from ca. 100% to -10%.

The problem is not that parameters in assets file change but, that at least one of them takes ridiculous value and I do not understand why.

It is not a price in cents issue because only futures have prices in cents. Do you get 0.01 only for EUR/USD or for other pairs also?

Hi Petra,
Only EUR/USD, other assets seems to have correct data.

That's apparently a wrong bid price on the MT4 server. Zorro does not use the spread from MT4. It gets ask and bid. The spread is the difference.

Contact your broker and inform them about the issue. Check also what spread you have in your asset list. If ask or bid are unavailable from MT4, Zorro uses the spread value from the list, so the error might also lie there.

If you get no sufficient solution from your broker, contact Zorro support. The will then send you a script for taking a snapshot from the MT4 asset parameters, to help your broker fixing the issue. It is rare, but happens occasionally that a MT4 server is wrongly configured.

Thanks for you answer, jcl. I will probably follow you advice.

Did you get this sorted?

I'm planning to trade the EURO on ICM, so have a live interest in the issue!