Flat definition

Flat means you hold no open position in a market. You are flat once you have closed every long and short position, so you carry no exposure to price movement.

You go flat by closing or offsetting your open trades, which locks in the result and ends your exposure. Flat can also describe a market that moves sideways, with weak momentum and a rough balance between buyers and sellers rather than a clear trend.

Flat sits between long and short. A long position profits when the price rises and a short position profits when it falls, while a flat position gains or loses nothing because there is no open trade. In bond trading, flat has a separate meaning: a bond trades flat when its price excludes accrued interest.

Flat Example

You open a long position on EUR/USD at 1.0850.

You later close it at 1.0880.

Once the position is closed you are flat, because you no longer hold an open EUR/USD position.