Answer:
Bid-ask spread.
Explanation:
The difference between the price at which a dealer is willing to buy and the price at which a dealer is willing to sell, is called the bid-ask spread.
Simply stated, the bid-ask spread refers to the amount by which the bid price by a dealer is lower than the ask-price for a security or an asset in the market at a specific period of time.
The bid-ask spread exists because of the need for dealers to cover expenses and make a profit. A bid-ask spread is use in the transaction of the following items; options, future contracts, stocks, and currency pairs.
Generally, a dealer who is willing to sell an asset or securities would receive a bid price while the price at which the dealer is willing to sell his asset to another dealer (buyer) is the ask price.
<em>Hence, the bid-ask spread is simply the difference between the ask price and the bid price. Therefore, a bid-ask spread is a measure of the demand and supply for an asset; where demand represents the bid while supply represents the ask for an asset. </em>
