Thin market
A state in which few orders rest in the book and modest size moves the price noticeably.
How to read the number
Here the last traded price records an accidental meeting of two orders rather than a collective view of what the security is worth.
When the metric lies
Leaving costs more than arriving: selling walks down the book, so a portfolio marked at the last price is valued above what it would actually realise.
Also known as: illiquid market