The Last Traded Price (LTP) and the bids and offers in market depth answer two different questions — LTP is the price of the last trade that actually happened, while market depth shows what buyers and sellers are currently quoting. They don't have to match, and often won't.
Why the LTP and market depth show different prices
- Market depth is live — the best five bids and offers change continuously as buyers and sellers place, modify, or cancel orders, whether or not a trade takes place.
- LTP only updates when a trade actually happens. Between trades, it stays exactly where it was, even while the bids and offers around it keep moving.
So the LTP doesn't fluctuate to keep pace with the bids and offers — it can sit still while you watch the market depth shift.
How do I know how recent the LTP is?
Check the Last Traded Time (LTT) next to the LTP — it shows exactly when that price was last struck, so you can judge how current it is against what the market depth is quoting right now.
What this means for you
- This isn't a data error — LTP and market depth are two different things by design: one is history, the other is the current queue of buyers and sellers.
- If you want to know what you'd actually get filled at right now, look at the market depth, not the LTP.