Lately there has been a rising number of variable broker spreads. Variable spreads can be costly. Variable spreads will vary depending on the market volatility and liquidity. Higher volatility — higher spread, lower volatility — lower spread. Under the normal course of the day, the currency pair might have normal volatility and thus spread remains fixed, but when volatility increases volatility increases due to news or geopolitical events the spread can be increased, perhaps going from a 2 pip spread to 4-6 pip spread, or even 20 pip spread if the news event is powerful enough. At the same time: higher liquidity – lower spreads, lower liquidity – higher spreads. The EUR/USD is a good example of a higher liquidity currency that also has lower spreads (sometimes around 1.5 spread), and the EUR/AUD is an example of a currency pair with lower liquidity and higher spread (often around 15 pip spread).