New article: MetaTrader 5 features hedging position accounting system

The MetaTrader 5 platform was originally designed for trading within the netting position accounting system. The netting system allows having only one position per financial instrument meaning that all further operations at that instrument lead only to closing, reversal or changing the volume of the already existing position. In order to expand possibilities of retail Forex traders, we have added the second accounting system — hedging. Now, it is possible to have multiple positions per symbol, including oppositely directed ones. This paves the way to implementing trading strategies based on the so-called "locking" — if the price moves against a trader, they can open a position in the opposite direction.

Since the new system is similar to the one used in MetaTrader 4, it will be familiar to traders. At the same time, traders will be able to enjoy all the advantages of the fifth platform version — filling orders using multiple deals (including partial fills), multicurrency and multithreaded tester with support for MQL5 Cloud Network, and much more.

Now, you can use one account to trade the markets that adhere to the netting system and allow having only one position per instrument, and use another account in the same platform to trade Forex and apply hedging.

A position accounting system is set at an account level and displayed in the terminal window header and the Journal:

New trade operation type — Close By

The new trade operation type has been added for hedging accounts — closing a position by an opposite one. This operation allows closing two oppositely directed positions at a single symbol. If the opposite positions have different numbers of lots, only one order of the two remains open. Its volume will be equal to the difference of lots of the closed positions, while the position direction and open price will match (by volume) the greater of the closed positions.

Compared with a single closure of the two positions, the closing by an opposite position allows traders to save one spread:

• In case of a single closing, traders have to pay a spread twice: when closing a buy position at a lower price (Bid) and closing a sell position at a higher one (Ask).
• When using an opposite position, an open price of the second position is used to close the first one, while an open price of the first position is used to close the second one.