Definition – What does Pending Order mean?
A pending order is an order that has been entered into the trading platform, but will not be executed unless certain conditions are met. Pending orders allow forex traders to leave positions open with a relative amount of security knowing that, should the trade hit the triggering condition, the order will be executed.
The most common types of pending orders are:
- Buy Limit
- Sell Limit
- Buy Stop
- Sell Stop
- Stop Loss
- Take Profit
ForexTerms explains Pending Order
Pending orders are a standard way for forex traders to control their positions while they are away from their trading stations. A trader can set a specific threshold of loss or profit by using stop loss and take profit orders on a position, or even set up orders for entering or exiting a position.
In theory, combinations of orders can be chained together to automatically carry out a trader’s strategy, but this is difficult in practice due to the limitations of some trading platforms and the risk of execution errors. Instead, traders looking to automate their strategy usually depend on trading software set up to maintain, enter and close positions according to the set trading strategy. This allows the trader to create all-purpose trading rules rather than manually entering lists of pending orders with specific conditions.
