Do you compare your broker's EUR/USD quote with the ECB reference rate? Show us how you check for differences

The European Central Bank publishes a euro reference rate against the US dollar every working day at 2:15 p.m. Central European Time, which is 12:15 UTC until clocks change on 25 October. On 5 October it was $1.1204 (report). It is a single daily fixing, so it will not match your broker's quote at that moment exactly, but it gives a free, official point of comparison.

A difference of a few pips between a broker's quote and the fixing is normal: spreads, liquidity and timing all matter. What traders look for is something systematic, such as a quote that is consistently further from the market than the broker's stated spread would explain. One practical trap: many platforms show server time rather than UTC, so check which time zone your chart uses before you compare a candle with a fixing. Bid, ask and slippage explained covers why prices differ.

We would like to hear what members have actually done:

• Have you compared your platform's EUR/USD price with the ECB fixing, or another reference such as another broker's, at the same minute? How did you do it?
• What differences did you find, and how large?
• Did you screenshot or log it? What would you look at before deciding something was wrong?
• Which other reference prices do you use to check a broker?

Please describe what you observed rather than posting verdicts on a broker, and leave out account numbers and other personal details. Posts that promise returns or sell signals will be removed.