Glossary · Trading basics

Expiry

The moment a fixed-payout trade closes and its result is decided by comparing the price at that moment with the entry price.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated November 5, 2026

Expiry is the deadline built into every Higher/Lower trade. You don't close the trade yourself: when the expiry time arrives, the closing price is compared with the entry price, and the trade is settled as a win, a loss or a tie.

Choosing an expiry is really choosing how much noise you are willing to bet against. Very short expiries are dominated by random ticks; longer ones give a trend or a level more time to play out, but also more time for news to interfere. A useful habit is to match the expiry to the chart timeframe you analysed: an idea drawn from M5 candles rarely makes sense as a 10-second trade.

Another misunderstanding: a trade that was “winning” a minute before expiry has not won anything. Only the price at expiry counts.

On Sky Trade expiry ranges from 5 seconds to 4 hours (30 seconds minimum on market pairs), set either as a duration or as a clock time to close at. The guide choosing expiry time goes deeper.

Example

You open Higher on EUR/USD at 1.08420 with a 5-minute expiry. Five minutes later the price is 1.08436, so the trade wins; at exactly 1.08420 it would be a tie and the stake would be refunded.

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