Introduction to Last Traded Price (LTP)
If you are new to the trading world, the terminologies used in this world may be a little confusing at the start. This is because most terms appear to have a similar meaning but are completely different from each other. This is why it becomes highly important to be familiar with all these terms if you want to survive in the trading world and trade efficiently.
One such term is the last traded price or LTP. Most people confuse this with the closing price or the market price. But in reality, the last traded price or LTP is different from both the closing price and the market price. To be familiar with the term, last traded price or LTP, let's look at it in a little bit of detail.
What is the Last Traded Price or LTP?
The last traded price is the last price at which the trade occurred in the futures contract. The occurrence of the last traded price or LTP depends on the liquidity of the market, based on which the last traded price or LTP could have occurred a few seconds ago or even a day ago.
The last traded price is often found on the last column of the market or on the depth of the market. As the occurrence of the Last Traded Price or LTP depends on the liquidity of the market, in an illiquid market, the trades that take place are very infrequent and they will take place at a very wide price range, this keeps the last traded price far away from the market price.
The last traded price is usually only relevant during the day, at the end of the day the last traded price becomes the closing price for that day. So during the day, the last price at which the trade occurred will be that day’s last traded price, and the price at which the day before ended will be the closing price.
