Expiration is the termination of a futures contract that serves as the underlying asset for certain CFD instruments. When an old contract expires, rollover procedures are performed to transition to the new contract, ensuring uninterrupted trading for the instrument.
In MetaTrader terminals, this process is called a "rollover". Open positions approaching expiration are automatically extended by switching to the new contract, allowing them to remain open. At the time of the rollover, the price of the new contract may differ from the old one, combining two different price series into a continuous chart. This transition is not always obvious: if a rollover occurs within a single one-minute candle, it often appears as a long candle rather than a visible price gap.
To offset the price difference between the expiring and new contracts and ensure it does not affect your trade result, an adjustment is credited to or debited from your account balance based on your trade volume. Spread is also charged during this process. You will see a corresponding credit or debit entry in your account history, which is directly related to the expiration process.
Please note that upon expiration on MetaTrader accounts, pending orders for certain instruments may be canceled to prevent them from triggering accidentally during the rollover (according to clause 7.4.4 of the Rules for Trading Operations). You can review full details regarding trade execution rules here.
Expiration dates are listed on the Instrument Specifications page.