Last Traded Price
Last traded price is the most recent transaction price. It can be misleading in thin markets because it may be stale or moved by a small trade.
Definition
Last traded price is the price of the most recent executed trade.
Why it can mislead
When markets are thin, the last trade may be old or may reflect a small, noisy fill. It may not represent current supply and demand. In those cases, mid price is often a better proxy for market consensus.
How to use it safely
• Prefer last traded price only when volume is steady.
• Compare it to mid and to the order book depth if available.
• Use VWAP over a window if you want a smoother estimate.
Related
Last traded price is often compared with mid price and VWAP when defining consensus benchmarks.