Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Forex Futures vs. Spot Forex Account
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VIDEOYou will see a lot of marketing materials out there explaining why the spot market is so much better and cheaper than the currency futures market, but how much of it is fact and how much is hype? What are the real differences between these two closely related markets? Is it really cheaper to trade spot forex? Aren’t there also advantages to trading futures? This is an important topic because so many of the differences are related to trading costs, which is often a neglected subject among both new and experienced traders.forex futuresWarning: It is very common to see incorrect or misleading information about futures and the trading costs associated with them in a spot forex dealer’s marketing materials, or in the materials that some forex educational sites give you that are just copied from the dealer’s propaganda. When in doubt, check it out. If what you read here doesn’t jibe with what you previously understood, you may have been given faulty information.Let’s begin this lesson by analyzing the major attributes of each market—futures and spot. Doing so will help us determine if either market really has an advantage. We will be ignoring some non-issues like leverage rates, expiration and “guaranteed” orders.1. 24 Hour Market—Advantage: NeitherSome spot forex advertising makes it seem like the only place you can trade 24 / 7 is in the spot forex market. That is not actually true. Both currency futures and spot forex effectively trade 23-24 hours a day, 5 days per week. The market is essentially closed from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon in North America.2. Spread—Advantage: Currency FuturesThe spread in the currency futures market is not fixed. Depending on the liquidity of the market at the time, the spread can be one pip or less, and an effective limit order may cut the spread to nothing. In the spot forex market, you can have a variable spread like this, which may widen with market conditions, or a fixed spread, which does not change but is usually wider (2-3 pips on the majors on average) than a variable spread.It is important to note that some spot dealers offer spreads on some pairs that are below one pip, but that is not the case for all of the pairs they offer. For example, a very good dealer is currently showing their average spread on the EUR/USD as 0.9 pips. That is lower than the currency futures market by 0.1 pips. However, they are showing an average spread of 2.5 pips on the GBP/USD, which is a full pip higher than the average for the GBP/USD currency futures contract. On average, the spread in the futures market is narrower across the majors and major crosses than the spot market because the futures market has more liquidity and price competition than an individual dealer.3. Commissions—Advantage: Spot ForexSpot forex dealers do not usually charge commissions. The spread is where they make their money, which is one reason it is a little wider on average than the currency futures market. However, let’s put this in perspective. A quick survey of good futures brokers put the average commission costs at $3.15 per side. That means an entry and exit (round trip) would cost $6.30 per contract, or 6/10ths of a pip. Once commissions are added to the spread cost above, the advantages between currency futures versus spot forex become much closer to neutral.4. Flexibility—Advantage: Spot ForexSpot forex dealers are extremely flexible on lot sizes. This is great since a full 100K lot may be too large for many new traders. Some dealers will slice the lot sizes anywhere from 10,000K to 1,000K. The currency futures market generally has two lot sizes. A full-size contract is usually a little larger than the 100K lot in the spot market. A mini contract, which is only available on some pairs, is usually about one-half the size of a full-size contract. Larger lot sizes can make money management in a small account extremely difficult and may be the only clear advantage spot forex has over the currency futures market.5. Roll-Over Interest vs. Carrying Charges—Advantage: Currency FuturesBecause one of the ways a forex dealer makes money is by trimming the interest payment or increasing the interest charge on a particular pair, the roll-over premium you receive from a futures contract tends to be a little higher than what you would receive from a spot forex contract. However, the cost or benefit of this interest premium is integrated into the price of the futures contract itself, which makes it harder to see at first glance.Here’s how it works. Imagine that you are 45 days away from the GBP/USD futures contract expiring. That contract’s current price is 1.9811 but the spot price is 1.9866. This difference (also known as the cost of carry) is created by the value of the interest premium that will accrue between now and expiration. By the time this contract expires in 45 days, the futures price will equal the current spot price exactly. That means that if the spot price held steady, you would make the equivalent of 55 pips as the futures price came up from 1.9811 to meet the spot price at 1.9866. By contrast, the highest rollover rate we could find from a forex dealer on the GBP/USD would pay the equivalent of 38 pips in interest premium during the same 45 day period. Similarly, the charges for being on the non-interest paying side of the transaction is less in the futures market than with a spot forex dealer.Advantage: Forex Futures6. Transparency—Advantage: Currency FuturesCurrency futures are exchange traded, which means that you can see order flow, volume, open interest and outstanding orders. Forex dealers do not share that information. And because the market is so distributed, information available from any one dealer is probably not comprehensive enough to give a clear picture of what is happening in the market as a whole. To get an idea of the volume of contracts that you can glean information from in the currency futures market, take a look at this—$83 billion worth of currency futures trade on the CME exchange every day alone. Contrast that with the largest retail forex dealer in the market who only trades $11 billion a day in total notional value.Advantage: Forex FuturesSummaryThe fact that forex dealers will split up a forex lot into very small slices makes the spot forex market the hands down winner for small traders.Larger retail traders, on the other hand, should seriously consider the futures market as an alternative to the spot forex market. Trading costs are nearly identical, the exchange is more transparent, the product breadth is equivalent and interest premiums are better.Every trader should realize that trading cost differences are not just limited to whether or not you are paying commissions. Trading costs include average spread, commissions and interest premiums or charges. When looked at together, these two markets look a lot more similar than you may have thought.ThoughtsThere is a lot of debate about the “future” of the currency market. Will the OTC dealers win or will the innovations and size of the futures exchanges crush the remaining benefits offered by the spot dealers? During the next couple of years, don’t be surprised to see exchanges begin listing flexible spot contracts along side futures contracts.
How Get Started With Forex Trading
For better clarification on what is Forex trading you have, in the first place to get up to date with a few terms such as extraneous commonness extraneous chat futures trading or online prevalence trading.
On the other hand, the understanding of the fx trading mechanism does not give you the requisite education to in fact enlarge yourself a forex plan and go to empower in the extraneous swap trading marketplace. You need more for getting deeper into this issue.
You’ll in all probability lose a lot of money since the mechanism is similar to the one of futures trading or stock trading: it’s more or less a lucky learned guess on tomorrow’s prices for a variety of currencies across the orb.
You in all probability make real that switching from US dollars to Euros, to Japanese Yens, then to UK incomparable and back to dollars again can have vital implications and may result in whichever great successes or powerful loss.
The futures trading involves deep tolerant of forex charts and signals, it means that you have to feel how high to bid, when to push your confines and when to stop and sell, to react fast at sell alerts, and all these transform into understanding Nonetheless this is not a free live through you can get: you need to provide real riches so this is why you have to be very delicate and learn from all dealings you make online already getting to build your fx culture right.
There are some major players in this souk who are already that skillful that they allow to use automatic forex trading systems, pre-setting all parameters, then scrutiny takings graceful in.
Forex circulation trading is feasible thankfulness to specific trading software, called forex trading raised area There are several trading systems free each of them in commission based on proprietary platforms or CMS forex systems.
Monetary markets are really sensitive to opinionated and efficient news international so we can say that they are sharply exaggerated by the butterfly get done This is why forex futures is so hard to master, the risk being very high. Yet, frequency trade is one of the most in a job means to make money online, despite its risks, as also yield limitations can be huge.
Because of its convolution more often than not currency trading happens via brokers. They are accredited by real players to denote them in all online currencies dealings worldwide irritating to get profits.
For those investors who don’t want to use brokers, there are promise to open a free forex trading demo financial credit where they can learn the activities of the trade exclusive of divulging themselves and their fat wallets to the real life risks. This is how one can learn forex trading, but it also requires some skills and a strong-tasting taste for adrenaline.
No have a bearing ho good you are, you still may lose, because of the very low staleness levels of this fiscal area of pursuit.
Taking decision on who are the best forex brokers is not an easy task. This is not as effortless and browsing the web and contacting the brokerage companies you may find. You need to make sure that those fx brokers can do a good job for your fiscal speculation. This is why recommendations and testimonials are a must.
Try to get these testimonials in numerous ways: forex forums, your acquaintances your family trade magazines, TV or radio shows. For example if you already know an excellent best stock trading online merchant you may ask him to urge you somebody in the forex affair.
All in all, the two terms are very parallel The change is in the commodities that is traded: in the first case the goods are currencies, while in the go along with case, they can be a mixture of beach sandals from copper to gold, or stocks and shares in intercontinental companies. Both of them can be related with futures trading. Futures means that you place a firm bid today on the future price of a reliable good, at a convinced date in the future.
When that day comes, in case the goods cost much more than you’ve bid, you’re a frontrunner because you’ll get them at that price you fixed in the past via futures trading. If their price is drop you’re a loser, for the reason that you’ll have to pay much more than they are importance.
The same happens with currencies: place today in USA, a bid for an amount of USD for a impending date, then when the day comes, see what you’ve gained or lost. Risks are high, coinage trading, be it online or in real life, is not at all a children’s play.
On the other hand, the understanding of the fx trading mechanism does not give you the requisite education to in fact enlarge yourself a forex plan and go to empower in the extraneous swap trading marketplace. You need more for getting deeper into this issue.
You’ll in all probability lose a lot of money since the mechanism is similar to the one of futures trading or stock trading: it’s more or less a lucky learned guess on tomorrow’s prices for a variety of currencies across the orb.
You in all probability make real that switching from US dollars to Euros, to Japanese Yens, then to UK incomparable and back to dollars again can have vital implications and may result in whichever great successes or powerful loss.
The futures trading involves deep tolerant of forex charts and signals, it means that you have to feel how high to bid, when to push your confines and when to stop and sell, to react fast at sell alerts, and all these transform into understanding Nonetheless this is not a free live through you can get: you need to provide real riches so this is why you have to be very delicate and learn from all dealings you make online already getting to build your fx culture right.
There are some major players in this souk who are already that skillful that they allow to use automatic forex trading systems, pre-setting all parameters, then scrutiny takings graceful in.
Forex circulation trading is feasible thankfulness to specific trading software, called forex trading raised area There are several trading systems free each of them in commission based on proprietary platforms or CMS forex systems.
Monetary markets are really sensitive to opinionated and efficient news international so we can say that they are sharply exaggerated by the butterfly get done This is why forex futures is so hard to master, the risk being very high. Yet, frequency trade is one of the most in a job means to make money online, despite its risks, as also yield limitations can be huge.
Because of its convolution more often than not currency trading happens via brokers. They are accredited by real players to denote them in all online currencies dealings worldwide irritating to get profits.
For those investors who don’t want to use brokers, there are promise to open a free forex trading demo financial credit where they can learn the activities of the trade exclusive of divulging themselves and their fat wallets to the real life risks. This is how one can learn forex trading, but it also requires some skills and a strong-tasting taste for adrenaline.
No have a bearing ho good you are, you still may lose, because of the very low staleness levels of this fiscal area of pursuit.
Taking decision on who are the best forex brokers is not an easy task. This is not as effortless and browsing the web and contacting the brokerage companies you may find. You need to make sure that those fx brokers can do a good job for your fiscal speculation. This is why recommendations and testimonials are a must.
Try to get these testimonials in numerous ways: forex forums, your acquaintances your family trade magazines, TV or radio shows. For example if you already know an excellent best stock trading online merchant you may ask him to urge you somebody in the forex affair.
All in all, the two terms are very parallel The change is in the commodities that is traded: in the first case the goods are currencies, while in the go along with case, they can be a mixture of beach sandals from copper to gold, or stocks and shares in intercontinental companies. Both of them can be related with futures trading. Futures means that you place a firm bid today on the future price of a reliable good, at a convinced date in the future.
When that day comes, in case the goods cost much more than you’ve bid, you’re a frontrunner because you’ll get them at that price you fixed in the past via futures trading. If their price is drop you’re a loser, for the reason that you’ll have to pay much more than they are importance.
The same happens with currencies: place today in USA, a bid for an amount of USD for a impending date, then when the day comes, see what you’ve gained or lost. Risks are high, coinage trading, be it online or in real life, is not at all a children’s play.
Currency Trade With Forex Futures
The Forex, or FX (foreign exchange) marketplace is the largest in the world. There is over 1 trillion dollars (US) traded daily. Forex futures are a derivative of the forex market.
Foreign currency traders thinking about trading in forex futures can find all the information they need on the internet. Every day, thousands of people are exploring the forex global marketplace and learning to trade.
Trading foreign currencies has fascinated speculators for decades. The global market for FX trading is fast-paced and always exciting. Trades must be initiated and called very quickly. While you can “learn as you go”, it is much better to have a good grounding in the basics before proceeding.
Forex futures are contracts traded on the exchanges to buy or sell a specified amount of a particular currency at a predetermined price, and on a set date. Futures contracts are always written to have a specific termination date, at which time delivery of the currency must take place, or an offsetting trade is made on the initial position.
When dealing specifically with forex futures a trader must be aware of current trends and how to read them. Forex futures can be purchased and held, or traded as you see fit. The particulars of knowing how and when to put the plan into action separates those who make a few dollars and those who make fortunes.
Forex futures trading appeals to those who are enjoy true speculation. More than 4 trillion dollars trades hands daily on the global fx marketplace, and much of it deals with future currency values. Successful trading means understanding how these trades are structured. One of the best ways to learn is from a mentor or experienced trader.
Forex futures are handled similarly to that of dealing with other futures. As such one fraction of a point can shift your profit margin right into the red loss column. FX trading is affected instantly by economic factors throughout the world. This is why it is imperative that traders and brokers keep updated on the world economy as a whole.
Foreign currency traders thinking about trading in forex futures can find all the information they need on the internet. Every day, thousands of people are exploring the forex global marketplace and learning to trade.
Trading foreign currencies has fascinated speculators for decades. The global market for FX trading is fast-paced and always exciting. Trades must be initiated and called very quickly. While you can “learn as you go”, it is much better to have a good grounding in the basics before proceeding.
Forex futures are contracts traded on the exchanges to buy or sell a specified amount of a particular currency at a predetermined price, and on a set date. Futures contracts are always written to have a specific termination date, at which time delivery of the currency must take place, or an offsetting trade is made on the initial position.
When dealing specifically with forex futures a trader must be aware of current trends and how to read them. Forex futures can be purchased and held, or traded as you see fit. The particulars of knowing how and when to put the plan into action separates those who make a few dollars and those who make fortunes.
Forex futures trading appeals to those who are enjoy true speculation. More than 4 trillion dollars trades hands daily on the global fx marketplace, and much of it deals with future currency values. Successful trading means understanding how these trades are structured. One of the best ways to learn is from a mentor or experienced trader.
Forex futures are handled similarly to that of dealing with other futures. As such one fraction of a point can shift your profit margin right into the red loss column. FX trading is affected instantly by economic factors throughout the world. This is why it is imperative that traders and brokers keep updated on the world economy as a whole.
Learn Forex Trading
Forex Trading need not sound like a mysterious subject that is meant for the gurus only, there are free help for learning forex trading online. If you use any of the popular search engine, you will receive tons of articles, tutorials and other resources that will aid you in learning forex trading. Of course the very first step in learning forex trading is understanding what Forex Trading is. If you are new here, I recommend that you read the first article in this series, What is Forex? It gives a simple introduction and background information on what Forex Trading is all about.The foreign currency exchange market, commonly refer to as Forex Market is the largest trading market in the world. Forex yields an average turnover of $1.9 trillion daily, and it is nearly 30 times larger than the total volume of equity trades in the United States of America. That sounds intimidating to a newbie forex trader. But it need not be.All that is required to learn forex trading is diligent study and patience. Too many newbie forex traders have lost money not because forex trading is difficult but because they never took the time necessary to understand and acquire the knowledge that will make them successful traders.Some out of ignorance simply purchased expensive forex trading software that they do not understand or know how to use. After such purchase, they sit back and expect fantastic income from their “Automated Forex Trading System”. That is not the way to go if you are really serious about investing in Forex Trading as an entrepreneur.How successful you will be as a Forex Trader will depend to a great extent on how knowledgeable you are about the business. Ignorance poses a greater threat of failure in Forex business more than any other factors put together. If you must succeed, then you must get yourself well educated about the business and remain current on the events taking place in the foreign exchange market at each point in time.
Things you need to learn and understand about Trading ForexThere are several things you will need to learn. However the very basic ones that you need for startup are listed below. You will require an in-depth understanding of each of these issues in order for you to start your forex trading business on a solid foundation.
How Forex works
Major Currencies Traded in the Foreign Exchange Market
Major Players in Forex Market
How to choose a Forex Broker
How to read Forex quotes
How to forecast currency changes
How to understand chart patterns
Forex strategies and risks
The technology used in Forex
Different Forex Trading Platforms
Recommended Forex Software to use
Tips and tricks for successful forex trading
How much do I need for Learning Forex Trading?It all depends on you. There are free resources and tools like I mentioned earlier, but there are also online forex trading learning centers that charge money for their courses. Here at Forex Trading Tutor, we concentrate on discussing free resources that are readily available to all. If you are interested in commercial forex trading resources, kindly patronize any of our website sponsors.In subsequent posts, each of the issues listed above will be discussed one after the other. We shall endeavour to provide as much information as possible. Where necessary, links to other useful materials and resources shall be provided as additional reference.
To Learn Forex Trading you need a Free Demo AccountForex Trading is a technical market that can only be mastered by practicing. Irrespective of the amount of tutorials that you read, you must practice the act of trading in the foreign currency market. This would have being too risky if you are required to use real money to learn the necessary skills. Fortunately, it is now possible to develop the basic skills recuired in trading foreign currencies without using real money. several Forex brokers now provide Demo Forex Trading Accounts that you can use for learning.Such demo trading accounts offers simulated forex trading environment. The forex demo account comes with virtual money that you can trade with in a simulated foreign market. You will be presented with tools of the trade to enable you learn how to analyse and interprete events in the market. You can sign up for a free account with eToro or any other reputable Forex Brokers.You can bookmark this page for easy reference. For future updates to this post, Learning Forex Trading, subscribe to our RSS feed.
Things you need to learn and understand about Trading ForexThere are several things you will need to learn. However the very basic ones that you need for startup are listed below. You will require an in-depth understanding of each of these issues in order for you to start your forex trading business on a solid foundation.
How Forex works
Major Currencies Traded in the Foreign Exchange Market
Major Players in Forex Market
How to choose a Forex Broker
How to read Forex quotes
How to forecast currency changes
How to understand chart patterns
Forex strategies and risks
The technology used in Forex
Different Forex Trading Platforms
Recommended Forex Software to use
Tips and tricks for successful forex trading
How much do I need for Learning Forex Trading?It all depends on you. There are free resources and tools like I mentioned earlier, but there are also online forex trading learning centers that charge money for their courses. Here at Forex Trading Tutor, we concentrate on discussing free resources that are readily available to all. If you are interested in commercial forex trading resources, kindly patronize any of our website sponsors.In subsequent posts, each of the issues listed above will be discussed one after the other. We shall endeavour to provide as much information as possible. Where necessary, links to other useful materials and resources shall be provided as additional reference.
To Learn Forex Trading you need a Free Demo AccountForex Trading is a technical market that can only be mastered by practicing. Irrespective of the amount of tutorials that you read, you must practice the act of trading in the foreign currency market. This would have being too risky if you are required to use real money to learn the necessary skills. Fortunately, it is now possible to develop the basic skills recuired in trading foreign currencies without using real money. several Forex brokers now provide Demo Forex Trading Accounts that you can use for learning.Such demo trading accounts offers simulated forex trading environment. The forex demo account comes with virtual money that you can trade with in a simulated foreign market. You will be presented with tools of the trade to enable you learn how to analyse and interprete events in the market. You can sign up for a free account with eToro or any other reputable Forex Brokers.You can bookmark this page for easy reference. For future updates to this post, Learning Forex Trading, subscribe to our RSS feed.
Forex Quotes
Forex quotes are the figures produced to show movement in the currency pairings exchange rates as far as bids, asks, changes and spreads are concerned. Some forex quotes may be tailored to give you only the information relevant to the currency trade you have an interest in. Signals and alerts can be part of forex quotes so that you don’t have to watch a screen 60/60, unless you’re a scalping opportunist. You may get tables, which not only show currency comparative rates but whether or not there has been a tick change in some forex quotes.
US TNote Future June 2009
Comment: TNote prices are at their lowest this year, yet still well within normal retracement parameters. This has steepened the yield curve by more than we had allowed for though simultaneously narrowing the yield gap over German paper as expected. Price action this year is seen as a ‘flag’ and another rush higher ought to be imminent. We continue to favour a squeeze back up to 125.00 and then more slowly to contract high at 126.24. Strategy: Buy at 120.24; stop below 120.00. Add to longs on
Forex Live Rates Monitoring the Market
There are many ways that one can read the Forex market and one of the ways and information that you can use is Forex live rates - a great way to monitor the market and make some investment decisions. Falling under the technical analysis umbrella, Forex live rates gives you real time readings and information based upon market movements and this is called one of the by products of the Forex influence. If we look more deeply in the area of Forex live rates and the influence factor of the market, we can actually track most of these sort of movements down to the existence of Central Banks in and around the market.
They are at the center of the financial system of any nation state and they are the ones who are in the demand and supply of the country's very own currency. Where they came from was actually in the 17th century, where the first central bank was based in Sweden and slowly but surely, the U.S Federal Reserve reared its head about two hundred years later, starting the growing trend of central banks and currency control in countries. The roles of the central bank is actually to monitor the market and the one in Europe does this quite well, ensuring price stability of the Euro and keeping a check on inflation rates in the continent. The Federal reserve of the U.S.A has four main responsibilities, which stretch from anywhere to influencing the monetary and credit conditions in the local economy, supervising bank activity, maintaining the stability of the financial system that providing a whole host of financial services to many of the business and institutions that form the coalition of American private and public business.
The Forex live rates come from most of their intervention. Interest rates are the most important lever that these banks can have control over and they are viewed as the very value of the currency. Because they have so much capital in reserve, they can often plunge enough commodities into the market to control the price and fluctuations of the rates; sometimes even going against the market to ensure that a movement does not gain so much momentum. This is often decided in boardroom meetings by carious chief financial officers who then pour over market data and decide there and then how best to regulate the live rates that will be of course reflected in the FX market.
One way to monitor the market is to get a good idea on the activities of the central banks that have a direct influence on the currency pairs that you are dealing with and this will give you some good technical analysis information to make some good decisions on the market. Forex live rates are a great way for anyone to monitor the market, combined with sound fundamental analysis and hard work on observing market psychology - to make some decent money. But of course this is just a small part of Forex you need to know about to effectively master it.
Click Here to claim your Free Forex "Basic Momentum Analysis" report today! Christopher Lee helps thousands of traders learn the proper way to trade currency.
They are at the center of the financial system of any nation state and they are the ones who are in the demand and supply of the country's very own currency. Where they came from was actually in the 17th century, where the first central bank was based in Sweden and slowly but surely, the U.S Federal Reserve reared its head about two hundred years later, starting the growing trend of central banks and currency control in countries. The roles of the central bank is actually to monitor the market and the one in Europe does this quite well, ensuring price stability of the Euro and keeping a check on inflation rates in the continent. The Federal reserve of the U.S.A has four main responsibilities, which stretch from anywhere to influencing the monetary and credit conditions in the local economy, supervising bank activity, maintaining the stability of the financial system that providing a whole host of financial services to many of the business and institutions that form the coalition of American private and public business.
The Forex live rates come from most of their intervention. Interest rates are the most important lever that these banks can have control over and they are viewed as the very value of the currency. Because they have so much capital in reserve, they can often plunge enough commodities into the market to control the price and fluctuations of the rates; sometimes even going against the market to ensure that a movement does not gain so much momentum. This is often decided in boardroom meetings by carious chief financial officers who then pour over market data and decide there and then how best to regulate the live rates that will be of course reflected in the FX market.
One way to monitor the market is to get a good idea on the activities of the central banks that have a direct influence on the currency pairs that you are dealing with and this will give you some good technical analysis information to make some good decisions on the market. Forex live rates are a great way for anyone to monitor the market, combined with sound fundamental analysis and hard work on observing market psychology - to make some decent money. But of course this is just a small part of Forex you need to know about to effectively master it.
Click Here to claim your Free Forex "Basic Momentum Analysis" report today! Christopher Lee helps thousands of traders learn the proper way to trade currency.
Correlation finds EUR/USD and Dow in Check Despite Corrective Behavior
Posted on May 5, 2009 at 19:31 in Commentary, Market Analysis by Tim Salem
Greetings again, Everyone!
We move now through the Asian-Pacific Sector, as the Equities drive in the U.S. will “Bleed Out” into the Asian Indices… and The KEY… in my personal View… Will be “Which Side of the Day” they choose to favor!
Will the Nikkei and the Topix and the Aussie and New Zealand Equity Desks prefer the earlier “healthy” part of the U.S. Day?…
…Or will these Exchanges open lower while preferring the ” U.S. Corrective Day” as the Dow and S&P 500 retrace and fall as they closed out their Sessions.
Surely… there is no need for concern with Fiber… as the Euro Dollar has simply been the “Baby Chick following the Mother Duck” all day long anyway!
Where “Mother Dow” went… “Baby Euro” followed…
BUT… we have a Fatal Flaw in our Cute little Analogy here!…
As the Dow/Euro Correlation moved along… we saw some subtle “Unwinding” as more Criteria came in affecting the Pair which contributed to the Sell-Off… the Dow simply moved into a bit of “quiet Consolidation”.
The Euro needed to start concerning Itself with the looming ECB Decision and the “Dovish” Climate that is engulfing the Decision and Rhetoric… as well as atrocious PPI Data Points and let’s not forget Non-Farm Payrolls to toss the “Euro Ship” around the Waters even more for the remainder of the Week.
Here are the Daily Views of the Dow Contract ( on this Platform I use for the Blog Illustrations), and the EUR/USD, so give the Captures a Click, and Post-Time is 00:30 GMT.
Greetings again, Everyone!
We move now through the Asian-Pacific Sector, as the Equities drive in the U.S. will “Bleed Out” into the Asian Indices… and The KEY… in my personal View… Will be “Which Side of the Day” they choose to favor!
Will the Nikkei and the Topix and the Aussie and New Zealand Equity Desks prefer the earlier “healthy” part of the U.S. Day?…
…Or will these Exchanges open lower while preferring the ” U.S. Corrective Day” as the Dow and S&P 500 retrace and fall as they closed out their Sessions.
Surely… there is no need for concern with Fiber… as the Euro Dollar has simply been the “Baby Chick following the Mother Duck” all day long anyway!
Where “Mother Dow” went… “Baby Euro” followed…
BUT… we have a Fatal Flaw in our Cute little Analogy here!…
As the Dow/Euro Correlation moved along… we saw some subtle “Unwinding” as more Criteria came in affecting the Pair which contributed to the Sell-Off… the Dow simply moved into a bit of “quiet Consolidation”.
The Euro needed to start concerning Itself with the looming ECB Decision and the “Dovish” Climate that is engulfing the Decision and Rhetoric… as well as atrocious PPI Data Points and let’s not forget Non-Farm Payrolls to toss the “Euro Ship” around the Waters even more for the remainder of the Week.
Here are the Daily Views of the Dow Contract ( on this Platform I use for the Blog Illustrations), and the EUR/USD, so give the Captures a Click, and Post-Time is 00:30 GMT.
FOREX for Dummies
FOREX trading is all about trading foreign currency, stocks, and similar type of products. The currency of one country is weighed against the currency of another country to determine value. The value of that foreign currency is taken into consideration when trading stocks on the FOREX markets. Most countries have control over the value of that countries value, involving the currency, or money. Those who are often involved in the FOREX markets include banks, large businesses, governments, and financial institutions.
What makes the FOREX market different from the stock market? A forex market trade is one that involves at least two countries, and it can take place worldwide. The two countries are one, with the investor, and two, the country the money is being invested in. Most all transactions taking place in the FOREX market are going to take place through a broker, such as a bank.
What really makes up the FOREX markets? The foreign exchange market is made up of a variety of transactions and counties. Those involved in the FOREX market are trading in large volumes, large amounts of money. Those who are involved in the FOREX market are generally involved in cash businesses, or in the trade of very liquid assets that you can sell and buy fast. The market is large, very large. You could consider the FOREX market to be much larger than the stock market in any one country overall. Those involved in the FOREX market are trading daily twenty-four hours a day and sometimes trading is completed on the weekend, but not all weekends.
You might be surprised at the number of people that are involved in FOREX trading. In the years 2004, almost two trillion dollars was an average daily trading volume. This is a huge number for the number of daily transactions to take place. Think about how much a trillion dollars really is and then times that by two, and this is the money that is changing hands every day!
The FOREX market is not something new, but has been used for over thirty years. With the introduction of computers, and then the internet, the trading on the FOREX market continues to grow as more and more people and businesses alike become aware of the availablily of this trading market. FOREX only accounts for about ten percent of the total trading from country to country, but as the popularity in this market continues to grow so could that number.
What makes the FOREX market different from the stock market? A forex market trade is one that involves at least two countries, and it can take place worldwide. The two countries are one, with the investor, and two, the country the money is being invested in. Most all transactions taking place in the FOREX market are going to take place through a broker, such as a bank.
What really makes up the FOREX markets? The foreign exchange market is made up of a variety of transactions and counties. Those involved in the FOREX market are trading in large volumes, large amounts of money. Those who are involved in the FOREX market are generally involved in cash businesses, or in the trade of very liquid assets that you can sell and buy fast. The market is large, very large. You could consider the FOREX market to be much larger than the stock market in any one country overall. Those involved in the FOREX market are trading daily twenty-four hours a day and sometimes trading is completed on the weekend, but not all weekends.
You might be surprised at the number of people that are involved in FOREX trading. In the years 2004, almost two trillion dollars was an average daily trading volume. This is a huge number for the number of daily transactions to take place. Think about how much a trillion dollars really is and then times that by two, and this is the money that is changing hands every day!
The FOREX market is not something new, but has been used for over thirty years. With the introduction of computers, and then the internet, the trading on the FOREX market continues to grow as more and more people and businesses alike become aware of the availablily of this trading market. FOREX only accounts for about ten percent of the total trading from country to country, but as the popularity in this market continues to grow so could that number.
using a mini forex account for trading
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A mini forex trading account involves using a trading lot that is one-tenth the size of the standard lot of 100,000 units. In a mini lot, one pip of a currency pair based in U.S. dollars is equal to $1, compared to $10 for a standard-lot trade. Mini lots are available to trade if you open a mini account with a forex dealer and are a popular choice for those who are just learning how to trade. Advantages of a Forex Mini AccountMini forex accounts require a relatively small amount of upfront capital to get started. This can be ideal for those looking to learn about trading currencies but who do not want to put much money at risk. In many cases, a mini account can be opened with as little as $250 in starting capital. Even though it is an advantage to open an account with a small amount of upfront capital, it is also important to realize that using leverage could make things much riskier if the currency pair makes a small adverse move. This problem can be reduced by starting with more than the account minimum to make the amount of leverage more manageable. (For related reading, see Forex Leverage: A Double-Edged Sword.)Traders with a forex mini account are not limited to only trading one lot at a time. To make an equivalent trade to that of a standard lot, the trader can trade 10 mini lots. By using mini lots instead of standard lots, a trader customize the trade and have greater control of risk. For example, if a trader wants to trade more than 100,000 units (one regular lot), but 200,000 units (two regular lots) is too risky, the trader using the regular account would not be able to trade. However, by using a mini account, a trader could make the trade by trading between 11 and 19 mini lots.Retail forex brokers often allow a significant amount of leverage when using mini lots. This minimizes risk on their end by lowering trade amounts. Often forex traders will use mini forex trading to gain the extra leverage available, but still trade in units of 100,000 (10 mini lots.) The greater customization of risk and the larger amounts of leverage available make forex mini accounts advantageous for many retail forex traders. (For more, see Forex Minis Shrink Risk Exposure.)
A mini forex trading account involves using a trading lot that is one-tenth the size of the standard lot of 100,000 units. In a mini lot, one pip of a currency pair based in U.S. dollars is equal to $1, compared to $10 for a standard-lot trade. Mini lots are available to trade if you open a mini account with a forex dealer and are a popular choice for those who are just learning how to trade. Advantages of a Forex Mini AccountMini forex accounts require a relatively small amount of upfront capital to get started. This can be ideal for those looking to learn about trading currencies but who do not want to put much money at risk. In many cases, a mini account can be opened with as little as $250 in starting capital. Even though it is an advantage to open an account with a small amount of upfront capital, it is also important to realize that using leverage could make things much riskier if the currency pair makes a small adverse move. This problem can be reduced by starting with more than the account minimum to make the amount of leverage more manageable. (For related reading, see Forex Leverage: A Double-Edged Sword.)Traders with a forex mini account are not limited to only trading one lot at a time. To make an equivalent trade to that of a standard lot, the trader can trade 10 mini lots. By using mini lots instead of standard lots, a trader customize the trade and have greater control of risk. For example, if a trader wants to trade more than 100,000 units (one regular lot), but 200,000 units (two regular lots) is too risky, the trader using the regular account would not be able to trade. However, by using a mini account, a trader could make the trade by trading between 11 and 19 mini lots.Retail forex brokers often allow a significant amount of leverage when using mini lots. This minimizes risk on their end by lowering trade amounts. Often forex traders will use mini forex trading to gain the extra leverage available, but still trade in units of 100,000 (10 mini lots.) The greater customization of risk and the larger amounts of leverage available make forex mini accounts advantageous for many retail forex traders. (For more, see Forex Minis Shrink Risk Exposure.)
types of accounts are available for forex trading
There are many different types of forex accounts available to the retail forex trader. Demo accounts are offered by forex brokers as a way to introduce traders to their software and execution methods. After the trader has tried out demo accounts with a few different dealers, a funded trading account would be the next step. Mini accounts, full accounts, and managed accounts are the most common types of funded accounts. Mini accounts are similar to regular trading accounts; however currency is traded in lots of 10,000 rather than 100,000. This allows for lower mandatory initial deposits, and greater customization of risk management.It is important that the currency trader consider what they want to get out of their account, before deciding on the type to open. Demo accounts, and mini accounts, are great for the retail forex trader to learn a profitable system, and get used to the execution methods of the broker. For the currency speculator that doesn't want to trade by themselves, a managed account would be better. Forex Managed TradingForex managed trading involves a money manager that trades a forex account on behalf of a client for a fee. Managed forex accounts are similar to hiring an investment advisor to manage a traditional investment account of equities and bonds. Returns and fees between managed accounts can vary greatly; therefore, it is important to research your options thoroughly before assigning your account to a professional manager. Managed Forex AccountSome managed forex accounts involve the trader "teaching" the manager what signals to look for and how to interpret them. It is thought that forex managed trading takes the psychology out of managing personal wins and losses.Another managed forex account type uses the firm's own proprietary trading systems. However, it is important to note that there is no such thing as the "holy grail" of trading systems. If a system is a perfect money maker, the seller will not want to share it. This is why big financial firms keep their "black box" trading programs under lock and key. For more, see our Forex Market Tutorial.
arbitrage strategy in forex trading
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Forex arbitrage is a risk-free trading strategy that allows retail forex traders to make a profit with no open currency exposure. The strategy involves acting fast on opportunities presented by pricing inefficiencies, while they exist. This type of arbitrage trading involves the buying and selling of different currency pairs to exploit any inefficiency of pricing. If we take a look at the following example, we can better understand how this strategy works. Example - Arbitrage Currency TradingThe current exchange rates of the EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, GBP/USD pairs are 1.1837, 0.7231, and 1.6388 respectively. In this case, a forex trader could buy one mini-lot of EUR for $11,837 USD. The trader could then sell the 10,000 Euros, for 7,231 British pounds. The 7,231 GBP, could then be sold for $11,850 USD, for a profit of $13 per trade, with no open exposure as long positions cancel short positions in each currency. The same trade using normal lots (rather than mini-lots) of 100K, would yield a profit of $130. This can be continued until the pricing error is traded away. As with other arbitrage strategies, the act of exploiting the pricing inefficiencies will correct the problem so traders must be ready to act quickly. For this reason, these opportunities are often around for a very short-time, before being acted upon. Arbitrage currency trading requires the availability of real-time pricing quotes, and the ability to act fast on the opportunities. To aid in the ability to find these opportunities quickly, forex arbitrage calculators are available.Forex Arbitrage Calculator Doing the calculations to find pricing inefficiencies yourself, can be time consuming to actually be able to act upon any opportunities found. For this reason, many tools have appeared across the Internet. One of these tools is the forex arbitrage calculator, which provides the retail forex trader with real time forex arbitrage opportunities. A Forex arbitrage calculator are sold for a fee on many Internet sites by both third parties and forex brokers; and is offered for free or for trial by some upon opening an account.As with all software programs and platforms used in retail forex trading, it is important to try out a demo account if possible. The wide variety of products available, it is near impossible to determine which is best. Trying out multiple products before deciding on one is the only way to determine what is best for the forex trader.
Forex arbitrage is a risk-free trading strategy that allows retail forex traders to make a profit with no open currency exposure. The strategy involves acting fast on opportunities presented by pricing inefficiencies, while they exist. This type of arbitrage trading involves the buying and selling of different currency pairs to exploit any inefficiency of pricing. If we take a look at the following example, we can better understand how this strategy works. Example - Arbitrage Currency TradingThe current exchange rates of the EUR/USD, EUR/GBP, GBP/USD pairs are 1.1837, 0.7231, and 1.6388 respectively. In this case, a forex trader could buy one mini-lot of EUR for $11,837 USD. The trader could then sell the 10,000 Euros, for 7,231 British pounds. The 7,231 GBP, could then be sold for $11,850 USD, for a profit of $13 per trade, with no open exposure as long positions cancel short positions in each currency. The same trade using normal lots (rather than mini-lots) of 100K, would yield a profit of $130. This can be continued until the pricing error is traded away. As with other arbitrage strategies, the act of exploiting the pricing inefficiencies will correct the problem so traders must be ready to act quickly. For this reason, these opportunities are often around for a very short-time, before being acted upon. Arbitrage currency trading requires the availability of real-time pricing quotes, and the ability to act fast on the opportunities. To aid in the ability to find these opportunities quickly, forex arbitrage calculators are available.Forex Arbitrage Calculator Doing the calculations to find pricing inefficiencies yourself, can be time consuming to actually be able to act upon any opportunities found. For this reason, many tools have appeared across the Internet. One of these tools is the forex arbitrage calculator, which provides the retail forex trader with real time forex arbitrage opportunities. A Forex arbitrage calculator are sold for a fee on many Internet sites by both third parties and forex brokers; and is offered for free or for trial by some upon opening an account.As with all software programs and platforms used in retail forex trading, it is important to try out a demo account if possible. The wide variety of products available, it is near impossible to determine which is best. Trying out multiple products before deciding on one is the only way to determine what is best for the forex trader.
method of analysis for forex trading
Types Of Analysis Used In ForexForex analysis is used by the retail forex day trader to determine whether to buy or sell a currency pair at any one time. Forex analysis could be technical in nature, using charting tools, or fundamental in nature, using economic indicators and/or news based events. The day trader's currency trading system use analysis that create buy or sell decisions when they point in the same direction. Forex trading strategies that use this analysis are available for free, for a fee or are developed by the trader themselves.
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Fundamental AnalysisFundamental analysis is often used to analyze changes in the forex market by monitoring factors, such as interest rates, unemployment rates, gross domestic product (GDP) and many other economic releases that come out of the countries in question. For example, a trader analyzing the EUR/USD currency pair fundamentally, would be interested in the interest rates in the Eurozone, compared to those in the U.S. They would also want to be on top of any significant news releases coming out of each country in relation to the health of their economies.Technical AnalysisTechnical analysis can be either manual or automated and is a system that uses past price movement to determine where a given currency may be headed. A manual system involves a trader analyzing technical indicators and interpreting whether to buy or sell. An automated trading analysis, involves the trader "teaching" the software what signals to look for and how to interpret them. Automated analysis takes out the human element of psychology that is detrimental to a lot of traders.Both automated technical analysis and manual trading strategies are available to purchase over the internet. It is important to note, though, that there is no such thing as the "holy grail" of trading systems. If the system was a perfect money maker, then the seller would not want to share it. This is evidenced in how big financial firms keep their "black box" trading programs under lock and key. There is no "best" method of analysis to be used by the forex trader. Depending on the trader's time frame, and access to information, either fundamental analysis or technical analysis could be thought of as the most viable option. For a short-term trader, with only delayed information to economic data, but real-time access to quotes, technical analysis may be the preferred method. Alternatively, for the long-term trader, or perhaps for the trader that has access to up-to-the-minute news reports and economic data, fundamental analysis could be preferred.
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Fundamental AnalysisFundamental analysis is often used to analyze changes in the forex market by monitoring factors, such as interest rates, unemployment rates, gross domestic product (GDP) and many other economic releases that come out of the countries in question. For example, a trader analyzing the EUR/USD currency pair fundamentally, would be interested in the interest rates in the Eurozone, compared to those in the U.S. They would also want to be on top of any significant news releases coming out of each country in relation to the health of their economies.Technical AnalysisTechnical analysis can be either manual or automated and is a system that uses past price movement to determine where a given currency may be headed. A manual system involves a trader analyzing technical indicators and interpreting whether to buy or sell. An automated trading analysis, involves the trader "teaching" the software what signals to look for and how to interpret them. Automated analysis takes out the human element of psychology that is detrimental to a lot of traders.Both automated technical analysis and manual trading strategies are available to purchase over the internet. It is important to note, though, that there is no such thing as the "holy grail" of trading systems. If the system was a perfect money maker, then the seller would not want to share it. This is evidenced in how big financial firms keep their "black box" trading programs under lock and key. There is no "best" method of analysis to be used by the forex trader. Depending on the trader's time frame, and access to information, either fundamental analysis or technical analysis could be thought of as the most viable option. For a short-term trader, with only delayed information to economic data, but real-time access to quotes, technical analysis may be the preferred method. Alternatively, for the long-term trader, or perhaps for the trader that has access to up-to-the-minute news reports and economic data, fundamental analysis could be preferred.
How To Trade & Open A Forex Account
So, you think you are ready to trade? Make sure you read this section to learn how you can go about setting up a forex account so that you can start trading currencies. We'll also mention other factors that you should be aware of before you take this step. We will then discuss how to trade forex and the different types of orders that can be placed.
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Opening A Forex Brokerage Account Trading forex is similar to the equity market because individuals interested in trading need to open up a trading account. Like the equity market, each forex account and the services it provides differ, so it is important that you find the right one. Below we will talk about some of the factors that should be considered when selecting a forex account. Leverage Leverage is basically the ability to control large amounts of capital, using very little of your own capital; the higher the leverage, the higher the level of risk. The amount of leverage on an account differs depending on the account itself, but most use a factor of at least 50:1, with some being as high as 250:1. A leverage factor of 50:1 means that for every dollar you have in your account you control up to $50. For example, if a trader has $1,000 in his or her account, the broker will lend that person $50,000 to trade in the market. This leverage also makes your margin, or the amount you have to have in the account to trade a certain amount, very low. In equities, margin is usually at least 50%, while the leverage of 50:1 is equivalent to 2%. Leverage is seen as a major benefit of forex trading, as it allows you to make large gains with a small investment. However, leverage can also be an extreme negative if a trade moves against you because your losses also are amplified by the leverage. With this kind of leverage, there is the real possibility that you can lose more than you invested - although most firms have protective stops preventing an account from going negative. For this reason, it is vital that you remember this when opening an account and that when you determine your desired leverage you understand the risks involved. Commissions and Fees Another major benefit of forex accounts is that trading within them is done on a commission-free basis. This is unlike equity accounts, in which you pay the broker a fee for each trade. The reason for this is that you are dealing directly with market makers and do not have to go through other parties like brokers. This may sound too good to be true, but rest assured that market makers are still making money each time you trade. Remember the bid and ask from the previous section? Each time a trade is made, it is the market makers that capture the spread between these two. Therefore, if the bid/ask for a foreign currency is 1.5200/50, the market maker captures the difference (50 basis points). If you are planning on opening a forex account, it is important to know that each firm has different spreads on foreign currency pairs traded through them. While they will often differ by only a few pips (0.0001), this can be meaningful if you trade a lot over time. So when opening an account make sure to find out the pip spread that it has on foreign currency pairs you are looking to trade. Other Factors There are a lot of differences between each forex firm and the accounts they offer, so it is important to review each before making a commitment. Each company will offer different levels of services and programs along with fees above and beyond actual trading costs. Also, due to the less regulated nature of the forex market, it is important to go with a reputable company. (For more information on what to look for when opening an account, read Wading Into The Currency Market. If you are not ready to open a "real money" account but want to try your hand at forex trading, read Demo Before You Dive In.) How to Trade ForexNow that you know some important factors to be aware of when opening a forex account, we will take a look at what exactly you can trade within that account. The two main ways to trade in the foreign currency market is the simple buying and selling of currency pairs, where you go long one currency and short another. The second way is through the purchasing of derivatives that track the movements of a specific currency pair. Both of these techniques are highly similar to techniques in the equities market.The most common way is to simply buy and sell currency pairs, much in the same way most individuals buy and sell stocks. In this case, you are hoping the value of the pair itself changes in a favorable manner. If you go long a currency pair, you are hoping that the value of the pair increases. For example, let's say that you took a long position in the USD/CAD pair - you will make money if the value of this pair goes up, and lose money if it falls. This pair rises when the U.S. dollar increases in value against the Canadian dollar, so it is a bet on the U.S. dollar. The other option is to use derivative products, such as options and futures, to profit from changes in the value of currencies. If you buy an option on a currency pair, you are gaining the right to purchase a currency pair at a set rate before a set point in time. A futures contract, on the other hand, creates the obligation to buy the currency at a set point in time. Both of these trading techniques are usually only used by more advanced traders, but it is important to at least be familiar with them. (For more on this, try Getting Started in Forex Options and our tutorials, Option Spread Strategies and Options Basics Tutorial.) Types of Orders A trader looking to open a new position will likely use either a market order or a limit order. The incorporation of these order types remains the same as when they are used in the equity markets. A market order gives a forex trader the ability to obtain the currency at whatever exchange rate it is currently trading at in the market, while a limit order allows the trader to specify a certain entry price. (For a brief refresher of these orders, see The Basics of Order Entry.) Forex traders who already hold an open position may want to consider using a take-profit order to lock in a profit. Say, for example, that a trader is confident that the GBP/USD rate will reach 1.7800, but is not as sure that the rate could climb any higher. A trader could use a take-profit order, which would automatically close his or her position when the rate reaches 1.7800, locking in their profits. Another tool that can be used when traders hold open positions is the stop-loss order. This order allows traders to determine how much the rate can decline before the position is closed and further losses are accumulated. Therefore, if the GBP/USD rate begins to drop, an investor can place a stop-loss that will close the position (for example at 1.7787), in order to prevent any further losses. As you can see, the type of orders that you can enter in your forex trading account are similar to those found in equity accounts. Having a good understanding of these orders is critical before placing your first trade.
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Opening A Forex Brokerage Account Trading forex is similar to the equity market because individuals interested in trading need to open up a trading account. Like the equity market, each forex account and the services it provides differ, so it is important that you find the right one. Below we will talk about some of the factors that should be considered when selecting a forex account. Leverage Leverage is basically the ability to control large amounts of capital, using very little of your own capital; the higher the leverage, the higher the level of risk. The amount of leverage on an account differs depending on the account itself, but most use a factor of at least 50:1, with some being as high as 250:1. A leverage factor of 50:1 means that for every dollar you have in your account you control up to $50. For example, if a trader has $1,000 in his or her account, the broker will lend that person $50,000 to trade in the market. This leverage also makes your margin, or the amount you have to have in the account to trade a certain amount, very low. In equities, margin is usually at least 50%, while the leverage of 50:1 is equivalent to 2%. Leverage is seen as a major benefit of forex trading, as it allows you to make large gains with a small investment. However, leverage can also be an extreme negative if a trade moves against you because your losses also are amplified by the leverage. With this kind of leverage, there is the real possibility that you can lose more than you invested - although most firms have protective stops preventing an account from going negative. For this reason, it is vital that you remember this when opening an account and that when you determine your desired leverage you understand the risks involved. Commissions and Fees Another major benefit of forex accounts is that trading within them is done on a commission-free basis. This is unlike equity accounts, in which you pay the broker a fee for each trade. The reason for this is that you are dealing directly with market makers and do not have to go through other parties like brokers. This may sound too good to be true, but rest assured that market makers are still making money each time you trade. Remember the bid and ask from the previous section? Each time a trade is made, it is the market makers that capture the spread between these two. Therefore, if the bid/ask for a foreign currency is 1.5200/50, the market maker captures the difference (50 basis points). If you are planning on opening a forex account, it is important to know that each firm has different spreads on foreign currency pairs traded through them. While they will often differ by only a few pips (0.0001), this can be meaningful if you trade a lot over time. So when opening an account make sure to find out the pip spread that it has on foreign currency pairs you are looking to trade. Other Factors There are a lot of differences between each forex firm and the accounts they offer, so it is important to review each before making a commitment. Each company will offer different levels of services and programs along with fees above and beyond actual trading costs. Also, due to the less regulated nature of the forex market, it is important to go with a reputable company. (For more information on what to look for when opening an account, read Wading Into The Currency Market. If you are not ready to open a "real money" account but want to try your hand at forex trading, read Demo Before You Dive In.) How to Trade ForexNow that you know some important factors to be aware of when opening a forex account, we will take a look at what exactly you can trade within that account. The two main ways to trade in the foreign currency market is the simple buying and selling of currency pairs, where you go long one currency and short another. The second way is through the purchasing of derivatives that track the movements of a specific currency pair. Both of these techniques are highly similar to techniques in the equities market.The most common way is to simply buy and sell currency pairs, much in the same way most individuals buy and sell stocks. In this case, you are hoping the value of the pair itself changes in a favorable manner. If you go long a currency pair, you are hoping that the value of the pair increases. For example, let's say that you took a long position in the USD/CAD pair - you will make money if the value of this pair goes up, and lose money if it falls. This pair rises when the U.S. dollar increases in value against the Canadian dollar, so it is a bet on the U.S. dollar. The other option is to use derivative products, such as options and futures, to profit from changes in the value of currencies. If you buy an option on a currency pair, you are gaining the right to purchase a currency pair at a set rate before a set point in time. A futures contract, on the other hand, creates the obligation to buy the currency at a set point in time. Both of these trading techniques are usually only used by more advanced traders, but it is important to at least be familiar with them. (For more on this, try Getting Started in Forex Options and our tutorials, Option Spread Strategies and Options Basics Tutorial.) Types of Orders A trader looking to open a new position will likely use either a market order or a limit order. The incorporation of these order types remains the same as when they are used in the equity markets. A market order gives a forex trader the ability to obtain the currency at whatever exchange rate it is currently trading at in the market, while a limit order allows the trader to specify a certain entry price. (For a brief refresher of these orders, see The Basics of Order Entry.) Forex traders who already hold an open position may want to consider using a take-profit order to lock in a profit. Say, for example, that a trader is confident that the GBP/USD rate will reach 1.7800, but is not as sure that the rate could climb any higher. A trader could use a take-profit order, which would automatically close his or her position when the rate reaches 1.7800, locking in their profits. Another tool that can be used when traders hold open positions is the stop-loss order. This order allows traders to determine how much the rate can decline before the position is closed and further losses are accumulated. Therefore, if the GBP/USD rate begins to drop, an investor can place a stop-loss that will close the position (for example at 1.7787), in order to prevent any further losses. As you can see, the type of orders that you can enter in your forex trading account are similar to those found in equity accounts. Having a good understanding of these orders is critical before placing your first trade.
Foreign Exchange Risk and Benefits
In this section, we'll take a look at some of the benefits and risks associated with the forex market. We'll also discuss how it differs from the equity market in order to get a greater understanding of how the forex market works.
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The Good and the Bad We already have mentioned that factors such as the size, volatility and global structure of the foreign exchange market have all contributed to its rapid success. Given the highly liquid nature of this market, investors are able to place extremely large trades without affecting any given exchange rate. These large positions are made available to forex traders because of the low margin requirements used by the majority of the industry's brokers. For example, it is possible for a trader to control a position of US$100,000 by putting down as little as US$1,000 up front and borrowing the remainder from his or her forex broker. This amount of leverage acts as a double-edged sword because investors can realize large gains when rates make a small favorable change, but they also run the risk of a massive loss when the rates move against them. Despite the foreign exchange risks, the amount of leverage available in the forex market is what makes it attractive for many speculators. The currency market is also the only market that is truly open 24 hours a day with decent liquidity throughout the day. For traders who may have a day job or just a busy schedule, it is an optimal market to trade in. As you can see from the chart below, the major trading hubs are spread throughout many different time zones, eliminating the need to wait for an opening or closing bell. As the U.S. trading closes, other markets in the East are opening, making it possible to trade at any time during the day.
Time Zone
Time (ET)
Tokyo Open
7:00 pm
Tokyo Close
4:00 am
London Open
3:00 am
London Close
12:00 pm
New York Open
8:00 am
New York Close
5:00 pmWhile the forex market may offer more excitement to the investor, the risks are also higher in comparison to trading equities. The ultra-high leverage of the forex market means that huge gains can quickly turn to damaging losses and can wipe out the majority of your account in a matter of minutes. This is important for all new traders to understand, because in the forex market - due to the large amount of money involved and the number of players - traders will react quickly to information released into the market, leading to sharp moves in the price of the currency pair. Though currencies don't tend to move as sharply as equities on a percentage basis (where a company's stock can lose a large portion of its value in a matter of minutes after a bad announcement), it is the leverage in the spot market that creates the volatility. For example, if you are using 100:1 leverage on $1,000 invested, you control $100,000 in capital. If you put $100,000 into a currency and the currency's price moves 1% against you, the value of the capital will have decreased to $99,000 - a loss of $1,000, or all of your invested capital, representing a 100% loss. In the equities market, most traders do not use leverage, therefore a 1% loss in the stock's value on a $1,000 investment, would only mean a loss of $10. Therefore, it is important to take into account the risks involved in the forex market before diving in. Differences Between Forex and Equities A major difference between the forex and equities markets is the number of traded instruments: the forex market has very few compared to the thousands found in the equities market. The majority of forex traders focus their efforts on seven different currency pairs: the four majors, which include (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF); and the three commodity pairs (USD/CAD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD). All other pairs are just different combinations of the same currencies, otherwise known as cross currencies. This makes currency trading easier to follow because rather than having to cherry-pick between 10,000 stocks to find the best value, all that FX traders need to do is “keep up” on the economic and political news of eight countries. The equity markets often can hit a lull, resulting in shrinking volumes and activity. As a result, it may be hard to open and close positions when desired. Furthermore, in a declining market, it is only with extreme ingenuity that an equities investor can make a profit. It is difficult to short-sell in the U.S. equities market because of strict rules and regulations regarding the process. On the other hand, forex offers the opportunity to profit in both rising and declining markets because with each trade, you are buying and selling simultaneously, and short-selling is, therefore, inherent in every transaction. In addition, since the forex market is so liquid, traders are not required to wait for an uptick before they are allowed to enter into a short position - as they are in the equities market. Due to the extreme liquidity of the forex market, margins are low and leverage is high. It just is not possible to find such low margin rates in the equities markets; most margin traders in the equities markets need at least 50% of the value of the investment available as margin, whereas forex traders need as little as 1%. Furthermore, commissions in the equities market are much higher than in the forex market. Traditional brokers ask for commission fees on top of the spread, plus the fees that have to be paid to the exchange. Spot forex brokers take only the spread as their fee for the transaction. (For a more in-depth introduction to currency trading, see Getting Started in Forex and A Primer On The Forex Market.) By now you should have a basic understanding of what the forex market is and how it works. In the next section, we'll examine the evolution of the current foreign exchange system.
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The Good and the Bad We already have mentioned that factors such as the size, volatility and global structure of the foreign exchange market have all contributed to its rapid success. Given the highly liquid nature of this market, investors are able to place extremely large trades without affecting any given exchange rate. These large positions are made available to forex traders because of the low margin requirements used by the majority of the industry's brokers. For example, it is possible for a trader to control a position of US$100,000 by putting down as little as US$1,000 up front and borrowing the remainder from his or her forex broker. This amount of leverage acts as a double-edged sword because investors can realize large gains when rates make a small favorable change, but they also run the risk of a massive loss when the rates move against them. Despite the foreign exchange risks, the amount of leverage available in the forex market is what makes it attractive for many speculators. The currency market is also the only market that is truly open 24 hours a day with decent liquidity throughout the day. For traders who may have a day job or just a busy schedule, it is an optimal market to trade in. As you can see from the chart below, the major trading hubs are spread throughout many different time zones, eliminating the need to wait for an opening or closing bell. As the U.S. trading closes, other markets in the East are opening, making it possible to trade at any time during the day.
Time Zone
Time (ET)
Tokyo Open
7:00 pm
Tokyo Close
4:00 am
London Open
3:00 am
London Close
12:00 pm
New York Open
8:00 am
New York Close
5:00 pmWhile the forex market may offer more excitement to the investor, the risks are also higher in comparison to trading equities. The ultra-high leverage of the forex market means that huge gains can quickly turn to damaging losses and can wipe out the majority of your account in a matter of minutes. This is important for all new traders to understand, because in the forex market - due to the large amount of money involved and the number of players - traders will react quickly to information released into the market, leading to sharp moves in the price of the currency pair. Though currencies don't tend to move as sharply as equities on a percentage basis (where a company's stock can lose a large portion of its value in a matter of minutes after a bad announcement), it is the leverage in the spot market that creates the volatility. For example, if you are using 100:1 leverage on $1,000 invested, you control $100,000 in capital. If you put $100,000 into a currency and the currency's price moves 1% against you, the value of the capital will have decreased to $99,000 - a loss of $1,000, or all of your invested capital, representing a 100% loss. In the equities market, most traders do not use leverage, therefore a 1% loss in the stock's value on a $1,000 investment, would only mean a loss of $10. Therefore, it is important to take into account the risks involved in the forex market before diving in. Differences Between Forex and Equities A major difference between the forex and equities markets is the number of traded instruments: the forex market has very few compared to the thousands found in the equities market. The majority of forex traders focus their efforts on seven different currency pairs: the four majors, which include (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF); and the three commodity pairs (USD/CAD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD). All other pairs are just different combinations of the same currencies, otherwise known as cross currencies. This makes currency trading easier to follow because rather than having to cherry-pick between 10,000 stocks to find the best value, all that FX traders need to do is “keep up” on the economic and political news of eight countries. The equity markets often can hit a lull, resulting in shrinking volumes and activity. As a result, it may be hard to open and close positions when desired. Furthermore, in a declining market, it is only with extreme ingenuity that an equities investor can make a profit. It is difficult to short-sell in the U.S. equities market because of strict rules and regulations regarding the process. On the other hand, forex offers the opportunity to profit in both rising and declining markets because with each trade, you are buying and selling simultaneously, and short-selling is, therefore, inherent in every transaction. In addition, since the forex market is so liquid, traders are not required to wait for an uptick before they are allowed to enter into a short position - as they are in the equities market. Due to the extreme liquidity of the forex market, margins are low and leverage is high. It just is not possible to find such low margin rates in the equities markets; most margin traders in the equities markets need at least 50% of the value of the investment available as margin, whereas forex traders need as little as 1%. Furthermore, commissions in the equities market are much higher than in the forex market. Traditional brokers ask for commission fees on top of the spread, plus the fees that have to be paid to the exchange. Spot forex brokers take only the spread as their fee for the transaction. (For a more in-depth introduction to currency trading, see Getting Started in Forex and A Primer On The Forex Market.) By now you should have a basic understanding of what the forex market is and how it works. In the next section, we'll examine the evolution of the current foreign exchange system.
Reading a Forex Quote and Understanding the Jargon
One of the biggest sources of confusion for those new to the currency market is the standard for quoting currencies. In this section, we'll go over currency quotations and how they work in currency pair trades.
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Reading a Quote When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), the forex quote would look like this:
USD/JPY = 119.50 This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency (in this case, the U.S. dollar) is always equal to one unit (in this case, US$1), and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that US$1 = 119.50 Japanese yen. In other words, US$1 can buy 119.50 Japanese yen. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies in question.Direct Currency Quote vs. Indirect Currency Quote There are two ways to quote a currency pair, either directly or indirectly. A direct currencyquote is simply a currency pair in which the domestic currency is the base currency; while an indirect quote, is a currency pair where the domestic currency is the quoted currency. So if you were looking at the Canadian dollar as the domestic currency and U.S. dollar as the foreign currency, a direct quote would be CAD/USD, while an indirect quote would be USD/CAD. The direct quote varies the foreign currency, and the quoted, or domestic currency, remains fixed at one unit. In the indirect quote, on the other hand, the domestic currency is variable and the foreign currency is fixed at one unit. For example, if Canada is the domestic currency, a direct quote would be 0.85 CAD/USD, which means with C$1, you can purchase US$0.85. The indirect quote for this would be the inverse (1/0.85), which is 1.18 USD/CAD and means that USD$1 will purchase C$1.18. In the forex spot market, most currencies are traded against the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar is frequently the base currency in the currency pair. In these cases, it is called a direct quote. This would apply to the above USD/JPY currency pair, which indicates that US$1 is equal to 119.50 Japanese yen. However, not all currencies have the U.S. dollar as the base. The Queen's currencies - those currencies that historically have had a tie with Britain, such as the British pound, Australian Dollar and New Zealand dollar - are all quoted as the base currency against the U.S. dollar. The euro, which is relatively new, is quoted the same way as well. In these cases, the U.S. dollar is the counter currency, and the exchange rate is referred to as an indirect quote. This is why the EUR/USD quote is given as 1.25, for example, because it means that one euro is the equivalent of 1.25 U.S. dollars. Most currency exchange rates are quoted out to four digits after the decimal place, with the exception of the Japanese yen (JPY), which is quoted out to two decimal places. Cross Currency When a currency quote is given without the U.S. dollar as one of its components, this is called a cross currency. The most common cross currency pairs are the EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF and EUR/JPY. These currency pairs expand the trading possibilities in the forex market, but it is important to note that they do not have as much of a following (for example, not as actively traded) as pairs that include the U.S. dollar, which also are called the majors. (For more on cross currency, see Make The Currency Cross Your Boss.) Bid and Ask As with most trading in the financial markets, when you are trading a currency pair there is a bid price (buy) and an ask price (sell). Again, these are in relation to the base currency. When buying a currency pair (going long), the ask price refers to the amount of quoted currency that has to be paid in order to buy one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will sell one unit of the base currency for in relation to the quoted currency. The bid price is used when selling a currency pair (going short) and reflects how much of the quoted currency will be obtained when selling one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will pay for the quoted currency in relation to the base currency. The quote before the slash is the bid price, and the two digits after the slash represent the ask price (only the last two digits of the full price are typically quoted). Note that the bid price is always smaller than the ask price. Let's look at an example:
USD/CAD = 1.2000/05 Bid = 1.2000 Ask= 1.2005 If you want to buy this currency pair, this means that you intend to buy the base currency and are therefore looking at the ask price to see how much (in Canadian dollars) the market will charge for U.S. dollars. According to the ask price, you can buy one U.S. dollar with 1.2005 Canadian dollars. However, in order to sell this currency pair, or sell the base currency in exchange for the quoted currency, you would look at the bid price. It tells you that the market will buy US$1 base currency (you will be selling the market the base currency) for a price equivalent to 1.2000 Canadian dollars, which is the quoted currency. Whichever currency is quoted first (the base currency) is always the one in which the transaction is being conducted. You either buy or sell the base currency. Depending on what currency you want to use to buy or sell the base with, you refer to the corresponding currency pair spot exchange rate to determine the price. Spreads and Pips The difference between the bid price and the ask price is called a spread. If we were to look at the following quote: EUR/USD = 1.2500/03, the spread would be 0.0003 or 3 pips, also known as points. Although these movements may seem insignificant, even the smallest point change can result in thousands of dollars being made or lost due to leverage. Again, this is one of the reasons that speculators are so attracted to the forex market; even the tiniest price movement can result in huge profit. The pip is the smallest amount a price can move in any currency quote. In the case of the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound or Swiss franc, one pip would be 0.0001. With the Japanese yen, one pip would be 0.01, because this currency is quoted to two decimal places. So, in a forex quote of USD/CHF, the pip would be 0.0001 Swiss francs. Most currencies trade within a range of 100 to 150 pips a day.
Currency Quote Overview
USD/CAD = 1.2232/37
Base Currency
Currency to the left (USD)
Quote/Counter Currency
Currency to the right (CAD)
Bid Price
1.2232
Price for which the market maker will buy the base currency. Bid is always smaller than ask.
Ask Price
1.2237
Price for which the market maker will sell the base currency.
Pip
One point move, in USD/CAD it is .0001 and 1 point change would be from 1.2231 to 1.2232
The pip/point is the smallest movement a price can make.
Spread
Spread in this case is 5 pips/points; difference between bid and ask price (1.2237-1.2232).Currency Pairs in the Forwards and Futures Markets One of the key technical differences between the forex markets is the way currencies are quoted. In the forwards or futures markets, foreign exchange always is quoted against the U.S. dollar. This means that pricing is done in terms of how many U.S. dollars are needed to buy one unit of the other currency. Remember that in the spot market some currencies are quoted against the U.S. dollar, while for others, the U.S. dollar is being quoted against them. As such, the forwards/futures market and the spot market quotes will not always be parallel one another. For example, in the spot market, the British pound is quoted against the U.S. dollar as GBP/USD. This is the same way it would be quoted in the forwards and futures markets. Thus, when the British pound strengthens against the U.S. dollar in the spot market, it will also rise in the forwards and futures markets. On the other hand, when looking at the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, the former is quoted against the latter. In the spot market, the quote would be 115 for example, which means that one U.S. dollar would buy 115 Japanese yen. In the futures market, it would be quoted as (1/115) or .0087, which means that 1 Japanese yen would buy .0087 U.S. dollars. As such, a rise in the USD/JPY spot rate would equate to a decline in the JPY futures rate because the U.S. dollar would have strengthened against the Japanese yen and therefore one Japanese yen would buy less U.S. dollars. Now that you know a little bit about how currencies are quoted, let's move on to the benefits and risks involved with trading forex.
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Reading a Quote When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), the forex quote would look like this:
USD/JPY = 119.50 This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency (in this case, the U.S. dollar) is always equal to one unit (in this case, US$1), and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that US$1 = 119.50 Japanese yen. In other words, US$1 can buy 119.50 Japanese yen. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies in question.Direct Currency Quote vs. Indirect Currency Quote There are two ways to quote a currency pair, either directly or indirectly. A direct currencyquote is simply a currency pair in which the domestic currency is the base currency; while an indirect quote, is a currency pair where the domestic currency is the quoted currency. So if you were looking at the Canadian dollar as the domestic currency and U.S. dollar as the foreign currency, a direct quote would be CAD/USD, while an indirect quote would be USD/CAD. The direct quote varies the foreign currency, and the quoted, or domestic currency, remains fixed at one unit. In the indirect quote, on the other hand, the domestic currency is variable and the foreign currency is fixed at one unit. For example, if Canada is the domestic currency, a direct quote would be 0.85 CAD/USD, which means with C$1, you can purchase US$0.85. The indirect quote for this would be the inverse (1/0.85), which is 1.18 USD/CAD and means that USD$1 will purchase C$1.18. In the forex spot market, most currencies are traded against the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar is frequently the base currency in the currency pair. In these cases, it is called a direct quote. This would apply to the above USD/JPY currency pair, which indicates that US$1 is equal to 119.50 Japanese yen. However, not all currencies have the U.S. dollar as the base. The Queen's currencies - those currencies that historically have had a tie with Britain, such as the British pound, Australian Dollar and New Zealand dollar - are all quoted as the base currency against the U.S. dollar. The euro, which is relatively new, is quoted the same way as well. In these cases, the U.S. dollar is the counter currency, and the exchange rate is referred to as an indirect quote. This is why the EUR/USD quote is given as 1.25, for example, because it means that one euro is the equivalent of 1.25 U.S. dollars. Most currency exchange rates are quoted out to four digits after the decimal place, with the exception of the Japanese yen (JPY), which is quoted out to two decimal places. Cross Currency When a currency quote is given without the U.S. dollar as one of its components, this is called a cross currency. The most common cross currency pairs are the EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF and EUR/JPY. These currency pairs expand the trading possibilities in the forex market, but it is important to note that they do not have as much of a following (for example, not as actively traded) as pairs that include the U.S. dollar, which also are called the majors. (For more on cross currency, see Make The Currency Cross Your Boss.) Bid and Ask As with most trading in the financial markets, when you are trading a currency pair there is a bid price (buy) and an ask price (sell). Again, these are in relation to the base currency. When buying a currency pair (going long), the ask price refers to the amount of quoted currency that has to be paid in order to buy one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will sell one unit of the base currency for in relation to the quoted currency. The bid price is used when selling a currency pair (going short) and reflects how much of the quoted currency will be obtained when selling one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will pay for the quoted currency in relation to the base currency. The quote before the slash is the bid price, and the two digits after the slash represent the ask price (only the last two digits of the full price are typically quoted). Note that the bid price is always smaller than the ask price. Let's look at an example:
USD/CAD = 1.2000/05 Bid = 1.2000 Ask= 1.2005 If you want to buy this currency pair, this means that you intend to buy the base currency and are therefore looking at the ask price to see how much (in Canadian dollars) the market will charge for U.S. dollars. According to the ask price, you can buy one U.S. dollar with 1.2005 Canadian dollars. However, in order to sell this currency pair, or sell the base currency in exchange for the quoted currency, you would look at the bid price. It tells you that the market will buy US$1 base currency (you will be selling the market the base currency) for a price equivalent to 1.2000 Canadian dollars, which is the quoted currency. Whichever currency is quoted first (the base currency) is always the one in which the transaction is being conducted. You either buy or sell the base currency. Depending on what currency you want to use to buy or sell the base with, you refer to the corresponding currency pair spot exchange rate to determine the price. Spreads and Pips The difference between the bid price and the ask price is called a spread. If we were to look at the following quote: EUR/USD = 1.2500/03, the spread would be 0.0003 or 3 pips, also known as points. Although these movements may seem insignificant, even the smallest point change can result in thousands of dollars being made or lost due to leverage. Again, this is one of the reasons that speculators are so attracted to the forex market; even the tiniest price movement can result in huge profit. The pip is the smallest amount a price can move in any currency quote. In the case of the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound or Swiss franc, one pip would be 0.0001. With the Japanese yen, one pip would be 0.01, because this currency is quoted to two decimal places. So, in a forex quote of USD/CHF, the pip would be 0.0001 Swiss francs. Most currencies trade within a range of 100 to 150 pips a day.
Currency Quote Overview
USD/CAD = 1.2232/37
Base Currency
Currency to the left (USD)
Quote/Counter Currency
Currency to the right (CAD)
Bid Price
1.2232
Price for which the market maker will buy the base currency. Bid is always smaller than ask.
Ask Price
1.2237
Price for which the market maker will sell the base currency.
Pip
One point move, in USD/CAD it is .0001 and 1 point change would be from 1.2231 to 1.2232
The pip/point is the smallest movement a price can make.
Spread
Spread in this case is 5 pips/points; difference between bid and ask price (1.2237-1.2232).Currency Pairs in the Forwards and Futures Markets One of the key technical differences between the forex markets is the way currencies are quoted. In the forwards or futures markets, foreign exchange always is quoted against the U.S. dollar. This means that pricing is done in terms of how many U.S. dollars are needed to buy one unit of the other currency. Remember that in the spot market some currencies are quoted against the U.S. dollar, while for others, the U.S. dollar is being quoted against them. As such, the forwards/futures market and the spot market quotes will not always be parallel one another. For example, in the spot market, the British pound is quoted against the U.S. dollar as GBP/USD. This is the same way it would be quoted in the forwards and futures markets. Thus, when the British pound strengthens against the U.S. dollar in the spot market, it will also rise in the forwards and futures markets. On the other hand, when looking at the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, the former is quoted against the latter. In the spot market, the quote would be 115 for example, which means that one U.S. dollar would buy 115 Japanese yen. In the futures market, it would be quoted as (1/115) or .0087, which means that 1 Japanese yen would buy .0087 U.S. dollars. As such, a rise in the USD/JPY spot rate would equate to a decline in the JPY futures rate because the U.S. dollar would have strengthened against the Japanese yen and therefore one Japanese yen would buy less U.S. dollars. Now that you know a little bit about how currencies are quoted, let's move on to the benefits and risks involved with trading forex.
What is Forex Trading?
The foreign exchange market is the "place" where currencies are traded. Currencies are important to most people around the world, whether they realize it or not, because currencies need to be exchanged in order to conduct foreign trade and business. If you are living in the U.S. and want to buy cheese from France, either you or the company that you buy the cheese from has to pay the French for the cheese in euros (EUR). This means that the U.S. importer would have to exchange the equivalent value of U.S. dollars (USD) into euros. The same goes for traveling. A French tourist in Egypt can't pay in euros to see the pyramids because it's not the locally accepted currency. As such, the tourist has to exchange the euros for the local currency, in this case the Egyptian pound, at the current exchange rate.
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The need to exchange currencies is the primary reason why the forex market is the largest, most liquid financial market in the world. It dwarfs other markets in size, even the stock market, with an average traded value of around U.S. $2,000 billion per day. (The total volume changes all the time, but as of April 2004, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that the forex market traded U.S. $1,900 billion per day.) One unique aspect of this international market is that there is no central marketplace for foreign exchange. Rather, currency trading is conducted electronically over-the-counter (OTC), which means that all transactions occur via computer networks between traders around the world, rather than on one centralized exchange. The market is open 24 hours a day, five and a half days a week, and currencies are traded worldwide in the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney - across almost every time zone. This means that when the trading day in the U.S. ends, the forex market begins anew in Tokyo and Hong Kong. As such, the forex market can be extremely active any time of the day, with price quotes changing constantly. Spot Market and the Forwards and Futures Markets There are actually three ways that institutions, corporations and individuals trade forex: the spot market, the forwards market and the futures market. The forex trading in the spot market always has been the largest market because it is the "underlying" real asset that the forwards and futures markets are based on. In the past, the futures market was the most popular venue for traders because it was available to individual investors for a longer period of time. However, with the advent of electronic trading, the spot market has witnessed a huge surge in activity and now surpasses the futures market as the preferred trading market for individual investors and speculators. When people refer to the forex market, they usually are referring to the spot market. The forwards and futures markets tend to be more popular with companies that need to hedge their foreign exchange risks out to a specific date in the future. What is the spot market?More specifically, the spot market is where currencies are bought and sold according to the current price. That price, determined by supply and demand, is a reflection of many things, including current interest rates, economic performance, sentiment towards ongoing political situations (both locally and internationally), as well as the perception of the future performance of one currency against another. When a deal is finalized, this is known as a "spot deal". It is a bilateral transaction by which one party delivers an agreed-upon currency amount to the counter party and receives a specified amount of another currency at the agreed-upon exchange rate value. After a position is closed, the settlement is in cash. Although the spot market is commonly known as one that deals with transactions in the present (rather than the future), these trades actually take two days for settlement. What are the forwards and futures markets?Unlike the spot market, the forwards and futures markets do not trade actual currencies. Instead they deal in contracts that represent claims to a certain currency type, a specific price per unit and a future date for settlement. In the forwards market, contracts are bought and sold OTC between two parties, who determine the terms of the agreement between themselves. In the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard size and settlement date on public commodities markets, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In the U.S., the National Futures Association regulates the futures market. Futures contracts have specific details, including the number of units being traded, delivery and settlement dates, and minimum price increments that cannot be customized. The exchange acts as a counterpart to the trader, providing clearance and settlement. Both types of contracts are binding and are typically settled for cash for the exchange in question upon expiry, although contracts can also be bought and sold before they expire. The forwards and futures markets can offer protection against risk when trading currencies. Usually, big international corporations use these markets in order to hedge against future exchange rate fluctuations, but speculators take part in these markets as well. (For a more in-depth introduction to futures, see Futures Fundamentals.) Note that you'll see the terms: FX, forex, foreign-exchange market and currency market. These terms are synonymous and all refer to the forex market.
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The need to exchange currencies is the primary reason why the forex market is the largest, most liquid financial market in the world. It dwarfs other markets in size, even the stock market, with an average traded value of around U.S. $2,000 billion per day. (The total volume changes all the time, but as of April 2004, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that the forex market traded U.S. $1,900 billion per day.) One unique aspect of this international market is that there is no central marketplace for foreign exchange. Rather, currency trading is conducted electronically over-the-counter (OTC), which means that all transactions occur via computer networks between traders around the world, rather than on one centralized exchange. The market is open 24 hours a day, five and a half days a week, and currencies are traded worldwide in the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney - across almost every time zone. This means that when the trading day in the U.S. ends, the forex market begins anew in Tokyo and Hong Kong. As such, the forex market can be extremely active any time of the day, with price quotes changing constantly. Spot Market and the Forwards and Futures Markets There are actually three ways that institutions, corporations and individuals trade forex: the spot market, the forwards market and the futures market. The forex trading in the spot market always has been the largest market because it is the "underlying" real asset that the forwards and futures markets are based on. In the past, the futures market was the most popular venue for traders because it was available to individual investors for a longer period of time. However, with the advent of electronic trading, the spot market has witnessed a huge surge in activity and now surpasses the futures market as the preferred trading market for individual investors and speculators. When people refer to the forex market, they usually are referring to the spot market. The forwards and futures markets tend to be more popular with companies that need to hedge their foreign exchange risks out to a specific date in the future. What is the spot market?More specifically, the spot market is where currencies are bought and sold according to the current price. That price, determined by supply and demand, is a reflection of many things, including current interest rates, economic performance, sentiment towards ongoing political situations (both locally and internationally), as well as the perception of the future performance of one currency against another. When a deal is finalized, this is known as a "spot deal". It is a bilateral transaction by which one party delivers an agreed-upon currency amount to the counter party and receives a specified amount of another currency at the agreed-upon exchange rate value. After a position is closed, the settlement is in cash. Although the spot market is commonly known as one that deals with transactions in the present (rather than the future), these trades actually take two days for settlement. What are the forwards and futures markets?Unlike the spot market, the forwards and futures markets do not trade actual currencies. Instead they deal in contracts that represent claims to a certain currency type, a specific price per unit and a future date for settlement. In the forwards market, contracts are bought and sold OTC between two parties, who determine the terms of the agreement between themselves. In the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard size and settlement date on public commodities markets, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In the U.S., the National Futures Association regulates the futures market. Futures contracts have specific details, including the number of units being traded, delivery and settlement dates, and minimum price increments that cannot be customized. The exchange acts as a counterpart to the trader, providing clearance and settlement. Both types of contracts are binding and are typically settled for cash for the exchange in question upon expiry, although contracts can also be bought and sold before they expire. The forwards and futures markets can offer protection against risk when trading currencies. Usually, big international corporations use these markets in order to hedge against future exchange rate fluctuations, but speculators take part in these markets as well. (For a more in-depth introduction to futures, see Futures Fundamentals.) Note that you'll see the terms: FX, forex, foreign-exchange market and currency market. These terms are synonymous and all refer to the forex market.
Forex Tutorial - A Short Introduction To FOREX
FOREX is the world’s largest and most liquid trading market. Many consider FOREX as the best home business you can ever venture in. Even though regular people have had
Best Forex Trading Books
the opportunity to take part in trading foreign currencies for profit (in the same way banks and large corporations do) since 1998, it is just now becoming the cool, hip, new "thing" to talk about at parties, business events, and other social gatherings.
Even though it has been somewhat of a loosely guarded secret, every day more and more investors are turning to the all-electronic world of FOREX trading for income and profit because of its numerous benefits & advantages over traditional trading vehicles, like stocks, bonds and commodities.
But, still, whenever something seems new or is just becoming a part of social conversation, news articles, and water cooler gossip, misconceptions have to be overcome, the mind has to be open and the slate has to be clear for starting out fresh with the CORRECT information.
So, in this article, it is my attempt to give you some solid, but not over-detailed, information on just what the heck "FX" (FOREX) means, what it is, and why it exists.
As a successful trader said, Trading FOREX is like picking money up off the floor Not trading FOREX is like leaving it there for someone else to pick up." Others in the industry have also said, Trading FOREX is like having an ATM machine on your own computer.
Here's an explanation (one I feel you'll appreciate) of what FOREX is and how a bunch of traders, profit from it:
The Foreign Exchange Market, also referred to the "FOREX" or "FX" market, is the spot (cash) market for currency.
But, don't mistake FX as trading the futures market, where you buy a contract to purchase a particular currency at a future price in time.
What FX traders do is much less risky than trading currencies on the futures market, much more profitable, and a lot easier, than trading stocks.
So, you're probably wondering where it's at ... or ... how to access the FX market?
The answer is: FX Trading is not bound to any one trading floor and is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. The FX market is considered an Over-the-Counter (OTC) or 'Interbank' market, due to the fact that the entire market is run electronically, within a network of banks, continuously over a 24-hour period.
Yes, if that's the first time you've heard about an all-electronic market, I know this may sound somewhat intriguing to you.
Here's what you are actually trading when you participate in the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market:
Essentially, like the large banks who use the FX market to protect themselves from the fluctuating exchange rate of different currencies, as an investor, what a FX trader is doing is simultaneously exchanging one countries currency for another. So, in actuality, they're electronically trading a currency-pair and the price that is quoted to us is the exchange rate between the two currencies.
In other words, simply the quoted price is how many of the one currency is worth 1 of the other currency.
Example:
EUR/USD last trade 1.2850 - One Euro is worth $1.2850 US dollars.The first currency (in this example, the EURO) is referred to as the base currency and the second (/USD) as the counter or quote currency.
The FOREX has a DAILY trading volume of around $1.5 trillion dollars - 30 times larger than the combined volume of all U.S. equity markets. This means that 1,498,574 skilled traders could each take 1 million dollars out of the FOREX market every day and the FOREX would still have more money left than the New York Stock exchange every day!
The FOREX plays a vital role in the world economy and there will always be a tremendous need for the FOREX. International trade increases as technology and communication increases. As long as there is international trade, there will be a FOREX market. The FX market has to exist so a country like Japan can sell products in the United States and be able to receive Japanese Yen in exchange for US Dollar.
There's plenty of money to be made using FOREX for plenty of traders that use the right trading techniques / tactics that will allow them to profit immensely. And, with only 5% of the daily turnover of volume coming from banks, government and large corporations who need to hedge, the other 95% is for speculation and profit.
Best Forex Trading Books
the opportunity to take part in trading foreign currencies for profit (in the same way banks and large corporations do) since 1998, it is just now becoming the cool, hip, new "thing" to talk about at parties, business events, and other social gatherings.
Even though it has been somewhat of a loosely guarded secret, every day more and more investors are turning to the all-electronic world of FOREX trading for income and profit because of its numerous benefits & advantages over traditional trading vehicles, like stocks, bonds and commodities.
But, still, whenever something seems new or is just becoming a part of social conversation, news articles, and water cooler gossip, misconceptions have to be overcome, the mind has to be open and the slate has to be clear for starting out fresh with the CORRECT information.
So, in this article, it is my attempt to give you some solid, but not over-detailed, information on just what the heck "FX" (FOREX) means, what it is, and why it exists.
As a successful trader said, Trading FOREX is like picking money up off the floor Not trading FOREX is like leaving it there for someone else to pick up." Others in the industry have also said, Trading FOREX is like having an ATM machine on your own computer.
Here's an explanation (one I feel you'll appreciate) of what FOREX is and how a bunch of traders, profit from it:
The Foreign Exchange Market, also referred to the "FOREX" or "FX" market, is the spot (cash) market for currency.
But, don't mistake FX as trading the futures market, where you buy a contract to purchase a particular currency at a future price in time.
What FX traders do is much less risky than trading currencies on the futures market, much more profitable, and a lot easier, than trading stocks.
So, you're probably wondering where it's at ... or ... how to access the FX market?
The answer is: FX Trading is not bound to any one trading floor and is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. The FX market is considered an Over-the-Counter (OTC) or 'Interbank' market, due to the fact that the entire market is run electronically, within a network of banks, continuously over a 24-hour period.
Yes, if that's the first time you've heard about an all-electronic market, I know this may sound somewhat intriguing to you.
Here's what you are actually trading when you participate in the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market:
Essentially, like the large banks who use the FX market to protect themselves from the fluctuating exchange rate of different currencies, as an investor, what a FX trader is doing is simultaneously exchanging one countries currency for another. So, in actuality, they're electronically trading a currency-pair and the price that is quoted to us is the exchange rate between the two currencies.
In other words, simply the quoted price is how many of the one currency is worth 1 of the other currency.
Example:
EUR/USD last trade 1.2850 - One Euro is worth $1.2850 US dollars.The first currency (in this example, the EURO) is referred to as the base currency and the second (/USD) as the counter or quote currency.
The FOREX has a DAILY trading volume of around $1.5 trillion dollars - 30 times larger than the combined volume of all U.S. equity markets. This means that 1,498,574 skilled traders could each take 1 million dollars out of the FOREX market every day and the FOREX would still have more money left than the New York Stock exchange every day!
The FOREX plays a vital role in the world economy and there will always be a tremendous need for the FOREX. International trade increases as technology and communication increases. As long as there is international trade, there will be a FOREX market. The FX market has to exist so a country like Japan can sell products in the United States and be able to receive Japanese Yen in exchange for US Dollar.
There's plenty of money to be made using FOREX for plenty of traders that use the right trading techniques / tactics that will allow them to profit immensely. And, with only 5% of the daily turnover of volume coming from banks, government and large corporations who need to hedge, the other 95% is for speculation and profit.
Amnesty on forex assets sought in Pakistan
KARACHI: Amnesty of foreign exchange sought in the forthcoming federal budget to lure overseas foreign exchange assets of both resident and overseas Pakistanis.This was suggested by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) to Ministry of Finance. The ICAP proposed that an amnesty of forex be announced in the federal budget by charging 10 per cent income tax.The ICAP in its pre-budget memorandum submitted to Central Board of Revenue has said, "Amnesty on declaration of foreign assets should be announced through finance bill -2005."Financial year 2005-2006 will be the first year of second generation reforms programme and this year pre-budget exercise has been started a bit earlier and senior officials of CBR have started both formal and informal consultations with top tax experts of the country and seeking their suggestions.In 1985 the then federal finance minister late Dr Mehboobul Haq announced famous forex amnesty by issuing foreign exchange bonds.For the first time in the economic history of the country forex amnesty was granted in mid sixties. The ICAP said, "The amnesty would be for a period of one year during which foreign assets declared may be taxed at the rate of 10 per cent."The ICAP alleged that at present foreign exchange dealers are misusing the facility of income tax exemption granted under Sub-Section 4 of Section 111 of the Income Tax Ordinance. Under this Section tax exemption is allowed to those senders, who used banking channels for their remittances.The ICAP suggested that this concession might be withdrawn because moneychangers are misusing it. The ICAP said, "This provision is being largely misused by the persons involved in foreign exchange business."Moreover, the provision is also refraining persons from being enrolled or included in the tax net. The ICAP suggested that this Section should be abolished from first July 2005.The ICAP has further suggested that CBR Circular number 11-1998 should be taken back as it discourages promotion of documented economy by allowing cash receipts and cash payments by the trading and manufacturing concerns.CBR vide its circular number 11-1998 clarified that the section 21(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 is not applicable to the expenditures chargeable to the trading and manufacturing accounts.It requires that any expenditure that exceeds Rs50,000 made other than by a crossed cheque or crossed bank draft shall not be allowed as deduction in computing income from business.●
Forex Trading
Forex trading isn’t strange words for those who looking forward to make quick profit in the financial market. Most investors will have at least hear or read about Forex trading. If Forex is a new term to you, please do read the Introduction to the Forex market before proceed reading this Forex trading article.
Forex trading is said to be the highest risk with highest return investment (or speculation game to be more accurate) in the financial market. The amount traded in the Forex market is much larger than any stock market or even combining few stock markets. Forex trading is simply a world wide trading market running 24 hours from Monday to Friday.
Everyday, there are new Forex traders entering into trading Forex. Some of them don’t even fully understand how Forex is traded but have already trading Forex. They are not idiot who want to burn their hard earned money, it’s just because Forex market is simply too lucrative market to enter with extreme high return. Any Forex traders can easily make a double return just in few minutes time trading Forex.
Forex trading is the trading of buying or selling certain currency. For example, buying US Dollar, then selling it later at a higher price to gain profit. Forex traders may also first sell US Dollar and later on buy it back at a lower price with the same gaining profit. It’s simple strategy of selling price minus buying price to make profit. In Forex trading, we just treat currency as a good, buy it and sell it.
You might now think how can Forex trading make huge profit just by selling and buying currency? Forex is traded using margin, Forex traders don’t need to full amount to buy any currency. For example, Forex traders just need 1000 Dollar to buy up 100,000 Dollar. This allows any Forex traders to make huge profit with little money.
Another important factor that any Forex traders can make huge profit is the high fluctuation for currency. Every day every seconds, the currency exchange rate is moving up and down, the Forex exchange rate fluctuate more heavily whenever there is any important economic data being released.
Forex trading is simply sounds too easy for anyone to make profit in very short time. But before you committed into Forex trading, it is strongly advised to have full understanding in Forex trading. Do read up other Forex trading articles in this website and share Forex trading knowledge in the Forex forums.
Forex trading is said to be the highest risk with highest return investment (or speculation game to be more accurate) in the financial market. The amount traded in the Forex market is much larger than any stock market or even combining few stock markets. Forex trading is simply a world wide trading market running 24 hours from Monday to Friday.
Everyday, there are new Forex traders entering into trading Forex. Some of them don’t even fully understand how Forex is traded but have already trading Forex. They are not idiot who want to burn their hard earned money, it’s just because Forex market is simply too lucrative market to enter with extreme high return. Any Forex traders can easily make a double return just in few minutes time trading Forex.
Forex trading is the trading of buying or selling certain currency. For example, buying US Dollar, then selling it later at a higher price to gain profit. Forex traders may also first sell US Dollar and later on buy it back at a lower price with the same gaining profit. It’s simple strategy of selling price minus buying price to make profit. In Forex trading, we just treat currency as a good, buy it and sell it.
You might now think how can Forex trading make huge profit just by selling and buying currency? Forex is traded using margin, Forex traders don’t need to full amount to buy any currency. For example, Forex traders just need 1000 Dollar to buy up 100,000 Dollar. This allows any Forex traders to make huge profit with little money.
Another important factor that any Forex traders can make huge profit is the high fluctuation for currency. Every day every seconds, the currency exchange rate is moving up and down, the Forex exchange rate fluctuate more heavily whenever there is any important economic data being released.
Forex trading is simply sounds too easy for anyone to make profit in very short time. But before you committed into Forex trading, it is strongly advised to have full understanding in Forex trading. Do read up other Forex trading articles in this website and share Forex trading knowledge in the Forex forums.
Forex Development History
Foreign exchange development history - exchange market evolution foreign exchange development history - exchange market evolution gold remittance system and Bretton woods agreement
In 1967, a Chicago bank rejected to provide pound loan to a professor named Milton Friedman, because his purposed was to use this fund to sell short the British pound. Mr. Friedman realized excessively that the price ratio from the British pound to US dollar at that time was high, he wanted first to sell the British pound, after the British pound fell he buys back the British pound to repay the bank again. This family bank rejects the loan offer based on the "Bretton woods Agreement" which was established 20 years ago. This agreement has fixed the various countries' currency to US dollar exchange rate, and the price ratio between the U.S dollar and the gold is also fixed to 35 US dollars to each ounce of gold.
The Bretton Woods Agreement was signed in 1944, the purposed was to prevent the currency to escape between countries, and also to limit the international speculation, thus to stabilize the international currency. Before this agreement was signed, the gold remittance standard system which was widely used since 1876 - was leading the international economy system until the First World War. In the gold remittance system, the currency was at the stable level under the support of the gold price. The gold remittance system has abolished the old time king and the ruler which depreciates the currency value unlawfully, which will lead to inflation.
But, the gold remittance standard system is certainly imperfect. Along with a country economic potentiality enhancement, it can import massive products from overseas, until it exhausts the gold reserve of certain country. It resulted the supply of the currency reduces, the interest rate raises, the economic activity will start to decline until it reaches the recession limit. Finally, the commodity price falls to the valley, gradually attracts other countries to stream in, massively rushes to purchase this country commodity. This will pour gold into this country, this will increase this country currency supplies quantity, and it will reduce the interest rate, and will create the wealth. This is so called the "the prosperity - decline” pattern and is the circulation of the gold remittance standard system, until the trade circulation and the gold freedom was broken by the First World War.
After several catastrophes wars, the Bretton Woods agreement has appeared. The countries which signed the treaty agreed to maintain the domestic currency to US dollar exchange rate, as well as the necessity of the corresponding ratio of the gold, and only allow a small fluctuation. Countries are prohibited to depreciate the currency value for the gain trade benefit, only allows the country to depreciate not more then 10%. Enters the 50's, the continuous growth of the international trade causes the fund large-scale shift which produces because of the postwar reconstruction, this causes Bretton Woods system which establishes the foreign exchange rate to lose stability.
This agreement was finally abolished in 1971, US dollar no longer could convert to gold. Until 1973, each major industrialized nation currency exchange rate fluctuation has been more freely, mainly regulates by the foreign exchange market through the currency supplies and demand quantity. The business volume, the transaction speed as well as the price variability, have achieved a comprehensive growth in the 1970's, come along with the emerge of price ratio fluctuation, the brand-new financial tool, then only the market liberalization and the trade liberalization could be achieved.
In the 1980s, along with the published of the computer and correlation technology, the international capital has flow rapidly, and strongly related the Asia, Europe and America market. Foreign exchange business volume from 80's rises daily from 70 billion US dollars to 150 billion US dollars after 20 years.
European market inflation
One of the reasons why the foreign exchange developed rapidly was the rapid development of the Euro dollar market. In a Euro dollar market, US dollar is stored beyond the border of America banks. Similarly, the European market is refers to property depositing outside the currency rightful owner country market. A Euro dollar market was formed at first in the 50's, at that time Russia deposited its petroleum income beyond the US border, avoid being freeze by the US government. This has formed a large offshore US dollar national treasury which is beyond the control of the US government. The American government has formulated a law to prohibited US dollar from lending money for the foreigner. Because the degree of freedom of the Euro dollar market is bigger and the rate of return is bigger, therefore it has large attraction. Starting from the 80's, the American company starts to borrow loan from the offshore market, they discovered that the European market is a wealth center which consists of large amount of floating capital which could provide short-term loan.
London once was (until now still is) one of the main offshore market. In the 80's, the Bank of England in order to maintain its global finance industry center dominant position, using US dollar as England pound substitution to make loan, thus to become a Euro dollar market center. London's convenient geographical position (is situated between Asian and Americas market) also helps to maintain the European market as the dominant position.
In 1967, a Chicago bank rejected to provide pound loan to a professor named Milton Friedman, because his purposed was to use this fund to sell short the British pound. Mr. Friedman realized excessively that the price ratio from the British pound to US dollar at that time was high, he wanted first to sell the British pound, after the British pound fell he buys back the British pound to repay the bank again. This family bank rejects the loan offer based on the "Bretton woods Agreement" which was established 20 years ago. This agreement has fixed the various countries' currency to US dollar exchange rate, and the price ratio between the U.S dollar and the gold is also fixed to 35 US dollars to each ounce of gold.
The Bretton Woods Agreement was signed in 1944, the purposed was to prevent the currency to escape between countries, and also to limit the international speculation, thus to stabilize the international currency. Before this agreement was signed, the gold remittance standard system which was widely used since 1876 - was leading the international economy system until the First World War. In the gold remittance system, the currency was at the stable level under the support of the gold price. The gold remittance system has abolished the old time king and the ruler which depreciates the currency value unlawfully, which will lead to inflation.
But, the gold remittance standard system is certainly imperfect. Along with a country economic potentiality enhancement, it can import massive products from overseas, until it exhausts the gold reserve of certain country. It resulted the supply of the currency reduces, the interest rate raises, the economic activity will start to decline until it reaches the recession limit. Finally, the commodity price falls to the valley, gradually attracts other countries to stream in, massively rushes to purchase this country commodity. This will pour gold into this country, this will increase this country currency supplies quantity, and it will reduce the interest rate, and will create the wealth. This is so called the "the prosperity - decline” pattern and is the circulation of the gold remittance standard system, until the trade circulation and the gold freedom was broken by the First World War.
After several catastrophes wars, the Bretton Woods agreement has appeared. The countries which signed the treaty agreed to maintain the domestic currency to US dollar exchange rate, as well as the necessity of the corresponding ratio of the gold, and only allow a small fluctuation. Countries are prohibited to depreciate the currency value for the gain trade benefit, only allows the country to depreciate not more then 10%. Enters the 50's, the continuous growth of the international trade causes the fund large-scale shift which produces because of the postwar reconstruction, this causes Bretton Woods system which establishes the foreign exchange rate to lose stability.
This agreement was finally abolished in 1971, US dollar no longer could convert to gold. Until 1973, each major industrialized nation currency exchange rate fluctuation has been more freely, mainly regulates by the foreign exchange market through the currency supplies and demand quantity. The business volume, the transaction speed as well as the price variability, have achieved a comprehensive growth in the 1970's, come along with the emerge of price ratio fluctuation, the brand-new financial tool, then only the market liberalization and the trade liberalization could be achieved.
In the 1980s, along with the published of the computer and correlation technology, the international capital has flow rapidly, and strongly related the Asia, Europe and America market. Foreign exchange business volume from 80's rises daily from 70 billion US dollars to 150 billion US dollars after 20 years.
European market inflation
One of the reasons why the foreign exchange developed rapidly was the rapid development of the Euro dollar market. In a Euro dollar market, US dollar is stored beyond the border of America banks. Similarly, the European market is refers to property depositing outside the currency rightful owner country market. A Euro dollar market was formed at first in the 50's, at that time Russia deposited its petroleum income beyond the US border, avoid being freeze by the US government. This has formed a large offshore US dollar national treasury which is beyond the control of the US government. The American government has formulated a law to prohibited US dollar from lending money for the foreigner. Because the degree of freedom of the Euro dollar market is bigger and the rate of return is bigger, therefore it has large attraction. Starting from the 80's, the American company starts to borrow loan from the offshore market, they discovered that the European market is a wealth center which consists of large amount of floating capital which could provide short-term loan.
London once was (until now still is) one of the main offshore market. In the 80's, the Bank of England in order to maintain its global finance industry center dominant position, using US dollar as England pound substitution to make loan, thus to become a Euro dollar market center. London's convenient geographical position (is situated between Asian and Americas market) also helps to maintain the European market as the dominant position.
Famous Forex Quotes
“If you get in on Jones’ tip; get out on Jones’ tip”. If you are riding another person’s idea, ride it all the way.
Run early or not at all. Don't be an eleven o'clock bull or a five o'clock bear.
Woodrow Wilson said, "a governments first priority is to organize the common interest against special interests". Successful traders seek out market opportunities capitalizing on the reality that government's first priority is rarely achieved.
People who buy headlines eventually end up selling newspapers.
If you do not know who you are, the market is an expensive place to find out.
Never give advice-the smart don't need it and the stupid don't heed it.
Disregard all prognostications. In the world of money, which is a world shaped by human behavior, nobody has the foggiest notion of what will happen in the future. Mark that word-nobody! Thus the successful trader bases no moves on what supposedly will happen but reacts instead to what does happen.
Worry is not a sickness but a sign of health. If you are not worried, you are not risking enough.
Except in unusual circumstances, get in the habit of taking your profit too soon. Don't torment yourself if a trade continues winning without you. Chances are it won't continue long. If it does console yourself by thinking of all the times when liquidating early preserved gains you would otherwise have lost.
When the ship starts to sink, don't pray-jump!
Life never happens in a straight line. Any adult knows this. But we can too easily be hypnotized into forgetting it when contemplating a chart. Beware of the chartist's illusion.
Optimism means expecting the best, but confidence means knowing how you will handle the worst. Never make a move if you are merely optimistic.
Whatever you do, whether you bet with the herd or against, think it through independently first.
Repeatedly reevaluate your open positions. Keep asking yourself: would I put my money into this if it were presented to me for the first time today? Is this trade progressing toward the ending position I envisioned?
It is a safe bet that the money lost by (short term) speculation is small compared with the gigantic sums lost by those who let their investments "ride". Long term investors are the biggest gamblers as after they make a trade they often times stay with it and end up losing it all. The intelligent trader will . By acting promptly-hold losses to a minimum.
As a rule of thumb good trend lines should touch at least three previous highs or lows. The more points the line catches, the better the line.
Volume and open interest are as important to the technician as price.
The clearest and easiest way to determine a trend is from previous highs and lows. Higher highs and higher lows mark an uptrend, lower highs and lower lows mark a downtrend.
Don't sell a quiet market after a fall because a low volume sell-off is actually a very bullish situation.
Prices are made in the minds of men, not in the soybean field: fear and greed can temporarily drive prices far beyond their so called real value.
When the market breaks through a weekly or monthly high, it is a buy signal. When it breaks through the previous weekly or monthly low, it is a sell signal.
Every sunken ship has a chart.
Take a trading break. A break will give you a detached view of the market and a fresh look at yourself and the way you want to trade for the next several weeks.
Assimilate into your very bones a set of trading rules that works for you.
The final phase in a bull move is an accelerated runaway near the top. In this phase, the market always makes you believe that you have underestimated the potential bull market. The temptation to continue pyramiding your position is strong as profits have now swelled to the point that you believe your account can stand any setback. It is imperative at this juncture to take profits on your pyramids and reduce the position back to base levels. The base position is then liquidated when it becomes apparent that the move has ended.
Run early or not at all. Don't be an eleven o'clock bull or a five o'clock bear.
Woodrow Wilson said, "a governments first priority is to organize the common interest against special interests". Successful traders seek out market opportunities capitalizing on the reality that government's first priority is rarely achieved.
People who buy headlines eventually end up selling newspapers.
If you do not know who you are, the market is an expensive place to find out.
Never give advice-the smart don't need it and the stupid don't heed it.
Disregard all prognostications. In the world of money, which is a world shaped by human behavior, nobody has the foggiest notion of what will happen in the future. Mark that word-nobody! Thus the successful trader bases no moves on what supposedly will happen but reacts instead to what does happen.
Worry is not a sickness but a sign of health. If you are not worried, you are not risking enough.
Except in unusual circumstances, get in the habit of taking your profit too soon. Don't torment yourself if a trade continues winning without you. Chances are it won't continue long. If it does console yourself by thinking of all the times when liquidating early preserved gains you would otherwise have lost.
When the ship starts to sink, don't pray-jump!
Life never happens in a straight line. Any adult knows this. But we can too easily be hypnotized into forgetting it when contemplating a chart. Beware of the chartist's illusion.
Optimism means expecting the best, but confidence means knowing how you will handle the worst. Never make a move if you are merely optimistic.
Whatever you do, whether you bet with the herd or against, think it through independently first.
Repeatedly reevaluate your open positions. Keep asking yourself: would I put my money into this if it were presented to me for the first time today? Is this trade progressing toward the ending position I envisioned?
It is a safe bet that the money lost by (short term) speculation is small compared with the gigantic sums lost by those who let their investments "ride". Long term investors are the biggest gamblers as after they make a trade they often times stay with it and end up losing it all. The intelligent trader will . By acting promptly-hold losses to a minimum.
As a rule of thumb good trend lines should touch at least three previous highs or lows. The more points the line catches, the better the line.
Volume and open interest are as important to the technician as price.
The clearest and easiest way to determine a trend is from previous highs and lows. Higher highs and higher lows mark an uptrend, lower highs and lower lows mark a downtrend.
Don't sell a quiet market after a fall because a low volume sell-off is actually a very bullish situation.
Prices are made in the minds of men, not in the soybean field: fear and greed can temporarily drive prices far beyond their so called real value.
When the market breaks through a weekly or monthly high, it is a buy signal. When it breaks through the previous weekly or monthly low, it is a sell signal.
Every sunken ship has a chart.
Take a trading break. A break will give you a detached view of the market and a fresh look at yourself and the way you want to trade for the next several weeks.
Assimilate into your very bones a set of trading rules that works for you.
The final phase in a bull move is an accelerated runaway near the top. In this phase, the market always makes you believe that you have underestimated the potential bull market. The temptation to continue pyramiding your position is strong as profits have now swelled to the point that you believe your account can stand any setback. It is imperative at this juncture to take profits on your pyramids and reduce the position back to base levels. The base position is then liquidated when it becomes apparent that the move has ended.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
::What Is The Difference Between Forex and Futures?
A Forex trader could trade more transaction compared to the futures market (the trading volume could be a times larger), and the risk will be strictly under control. The trading volume of the Forex market is 46 times larger compared to the futures market, moreover Forex traders could make more profit from the Forex market due to the larger trading volume (the transaction volume is a few times larger), the REFCO Switzerland rich transaction platform allowed transaction between 1-100 times to be carry on, moreover a Forex trader could decide his or her own transaction amount, for example: Your account has $30,000, the basic transaction unit is each $1,000 (which transaction amount in $1.00, million), namely, so the proportion of the margin of each transaction unit is 100:1.
The risk of the Forex trader is under control, such margin call will not happen compared to futures, through the Forex trading system, your risk will receive the strict limit, even if your margin if lower then the deposit required, the Forex trading system will automatically settle your position, this means even if a Forex trader suffered losses, moreover if the market is suffering from a disaster fluctuation, your loss could not surpass your account amount. In order to understand the advantages, please apply for the demo account to carry on the complete zero risk.
A Forex trader will receive a large limitation of liquidation and a relatively fair market because the trading volume of the Forex market is large and it is also the largest liquidation market in the world. At present the trading volume in the Forex market is 140 billion Dollars, such big market will completely digest your transaction cash.
A Forex trader may do 24 hours transactions and other markets are different, the Forex market is a 24 hour linkages market, it starts from every Sunday before dawn Australian Sydney market, substandard collect the transaction center Singapore, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt to New York continuously to open, such linkage market enable you to do 24 hours transactions, also provide flexibility for Forex trader to do transaction.
The risk of the Forex trader is under control, such margin call will not happen compared to futures, through the Forex trading system, your risk will receive the strict limit, even if your margin if lower then the deposit required, the Forex trading system will automatically settle your position, this means even if a Forex trader suffered losses, moreover if the market is suffering from a disaster fluctuation, your loss could not surpass your account amount. In order to understand the advantages, please apply for the demo account to carry on the complete zero risk.
A Forex trader will receive a large limitation of liquidation and a relatively fair market because the trading volume of the Forex market is large and it is also the largest liquidation market in the world. At present the trading volume in the Forex market is 140 billion Dollars, such big market will completely digest your transaction cash.
A Forex trader may do 24 hours transactions and other markets are different, the Forex market is a 24 hour linkages market, it starts from every Sunday before dawn Australian Sydney market, substandard collect the transaction center Singapore, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt to New York continuously to open, such linkage market enable you to do 24 hours transactions, also provide flexibility for Forex trader to do transaction.
Forex Charts
Forex charts assist the investor by providing a visual representation of exchange rate fluctuations. Many variables affect currency exchange rates, such as interest rates, bank policies, geopolitics, and even the time of day may affect exchange rates.
In order to help the investor attempt to predict when or in what direction a rate may change, advisors provide forex charts. Quality forex websites provide subscribers with a daily newsletter that includes a forex chart, forex signals and a forex forecast.
There are a variety of forex charts available for the investor to use and study. Some are very simple using only a couple of forex signals or indicators and are ideal for beginners. Others include 30 or 40 forex signals or indicators and live on-line streaming data so that the investor may analyze trades quickly and accurately.
In order to make an accurate forex forecast, it would seem that the more indicators, the better, but some analysts prefer a simpler system.
The idea behind studying forex charts is that history repeats itself. Instead of trying to “see the future”, a forex forecast evaluates the past. That is to say that the analyst who is responsible for attempting to predict future currency moves analyzes what happened to an exchange rate yesterday, last week, last month or last year and uses this knowledge to the best degree he knows how.
Some people trade short term, some intermediate term, and some long term. All three types of traders may benefit from the use of forex charts, just adapted to their own trading time frame.
Investors also create their own forex charts to evaluate their own performance. Creating a forex strategy for oneself is the goal of many investors. Instead of looking to a professional to analyze forex signals, these investors choose to create their own forex forecast.
Others, however, create their own strategy but also follow the opinions of professional currency traders at the same time. It all depends on your personal preferences.
There are other forex charts that deal with known correlations between two currency pairs, that is, how they move in relation to each other. Some exchange rates are known to affect other exchange rates, either by moving in the same or the opposite direction depending on the correlation.
Charts are available that explain these correlations in detail and show which pairs have strong correlations or strong negative correlations, so that an investor can use the movement of the exchange rate of one currency as a signal to trade another currency. These correlations are also the basis for some forex forecasts.
It can be difficult and overwhelming to enter the world of forex trading alone. Experts recommend education, practice with a demo account and advice from a reputable broker who is backed by a quality institution. Learning to read forex charts and evaluate forex signals is a skill that comes with time, skills that are essential when an accurate forex forecast is the the goal.
In order to help the investor attempt to predict when or in what direction a rate may change, advisors provide forex charts. Quality forex websites provide subscribers with a daily newsletter that includes a forex chart, forex signals and a forex forecast.
There are a variety of forex charts available for the investor to use and study. Some are very simple using only a couple of forex signals or indicators and are ideal for beginners. Others include 30 or 40 forex signals or indicators and live on-line streaming data so that the investor may analyze trades quickly and accurately.
In order to make an accurate forex forecast, it would seem that the more indicators, the better, but some analysts prefer a simpler system.
The idea behind studying forex charts is that history repeats itself. Instead of trying to “see the future”, a forex forecast evaluates the past. That is to say that the analyst who is responsible for attempting to predict future currency moves analyzes what happened to an exchange rate yesterday, last week, last month or last year and uses this knowledge to the best degree he knows how.
Some people trade short term, some intermediate term, and some long term. All three types of traders may benefit from the use of forex charts, just adapted to their own trading time frame.
Investors also create their own forex charts to evaluate their own performance. Creating a forex strategy for oneself is the goal of many investors. Instead of looking to a professional to analyze forex signals, these investors choose to create their own forex forecast.
Others, however, create their own strategy but also follow the opinions of professional currency traders at the same time. It all depends on your personal preferences.
There are other forex charts that deal with known correlations between two currency pairs, that is, how they move in relation to each other. Some exchange rates are known to affect other exchange rates, either by moving in the same or the opposite direction depending on the correlation.
Charts are available that explain these correlations in detail and show which pairs have strong correlations or strong negative correlations, so that an investor can use the movement of the exchange rate of one currency as a signal to trade another currency. These correlations are also the basis for some forex forecasts.
It can be difficult and overwhelming to enter the world of forex trading alone. Experts recommend education, practice with a demo account and advice from a reputable broker who is backed by a quality institution. Learning to read forex charts and evaluate forex signals is a skill that comes with time, skills that are essential when an accurate forex forecast is the the goal.
Characteristics of Forex Market
In recent years, the foreign exchange market could favor more and more people, it becomes a favorite for the international investors, and this is strongly related to the characteristics of the Forex market. The main characteristics of the foreign exchange market are:
1st, It consists market but no trading field The finance industry in the western countries consist two sets of systems, namely the centralism business central operation and there is no fixed place for such business network. Stock trading is being traded through stock exchange. Like the New York Stock Exchange, the London stock market, the Tokyo stock market, respectively is American, English, the Japanese stock main transaction place, it is a centralism business financial commodity, its quoted price, the transaction time and hand over to the procedure all consist of unification the stipulation, and has established the same business association, it has formulated the same business rules. The investor could buy and sells the commodity through the broker company, this is known as "consist of trading market and trading field".
But foreign exchange business is done without any unification operation market and business network, it has no centralism unified place like the stock transaction. But, the foreign currency trading network actually is globally, and it has formed a organization which has no formal organization, the market is relied through an approval way and the advanced information system, Forex traders do not consist any membership qualification for any organization, but must obtain colleague’s trust and approval. This kind of Forex market which has no trading field is known as "consist of market but no trading field". Each day, the trading volume in the global Forex market involves billions of U.S dollars, the so huge large amount fund, is being control under both the non-centralism place and non central governance system, plus it is settle based on non-government governance.
2nd, Circulation work Due to the different geographical position of the various financial centre, the Asian market, the European market, the Americas market because of the time difference relations, it has become an entire day 24 hour continued operation whole world foreign exchange market.
Early morning 0830 (New York time) New York market opens, 0930 Chicago market opens, 1830 Sydney opens, 1930 Tokyo opens, 2030 Hong Kong, Singapore open, before dawn 1430 Frankfurt opens, 1530 o'clock London market opens. So 24 hours uninterrupted movements, the foreign exchange market becomes a day and night market, only on Saturday, Sunday as well as the various countries' significant holiday, the foreign exchange market only then can close.
This kind of continued operation, provided no time and spatial barrier ideal outlet for investors, the Forex trader may seek the best opportunity to carry on the transaction. For instance, Forex trader buys up the Japanese Yen in the morning at the New York market, in the evening Hong Kong market opens the Japanese Yen rises, the Forex trader sells in the Hong Kong market, no matter Forex trader in where, he all may participate in any market, any time business. Therefore, the foreign exchange market may say is does not have the time and the spatial barrier market.
3rd, Zero and Game In the stock market, the rise or the drop of stock market could influence the value of the stock whether to rise or drop, for example the Japanese new date iron stock price falls from 800 Japanese Yen to 400 Japanese Yen, the value of this stock has been reduced to half. However, in the foreign exchange market, the value of a stock and a currency is being calculated differently, this is because the exchange rate is refers to the exchange ratio both countries currency, the exchange rate change will influence one kind of monetary value to reduce and at the same time another kind of monetary value increase. For instance in 22 years ago, 1 US dollar exchanges 360 Japanese Yen, at present, 1 US dollar exchanges 110 Japanese Yen, this explains the Japanese Yen currency value rise, but US dollar currency value drops, in the end the value will not reduce or increase. Therefore, some people described the foreign currency trading is "zero and the game", exactly said is the wealth shift.
In recent years, investment foreign exchange market fund has continuously increased, the exchange rate fluctuation expands day by day, urges the wealth shift to be larger, the daily trading volume of the global foreign exchange involves 150 billion US dollars, the rise or falls 1%, means that the 150 billion funds has been shifted. Although the foreign exchange rate change is very big, but, any kind of currency will not become waste paper, even if some kind of currency unceasingly falls, however, but generally it represents certain value, only if such currency has been abolished.
1st, It consists market but no trading field The finance industry in the western countries consist two sets of systems, namely the centralism business central operation and there is no fixed place for such business network. Stock trading is being traded through stock exchange. Like the New York Stock Exchange, the London stock market, the Tokyo stock market, respectively is American, English, the Japanese stock main transaction place, it is a centralism business financial commodity, its quoted price, the transaction time and hand over to the procedure all consist of unification the stipulation, and has established the same business association, it has formulated the same business rules. The investor could buy and sells the commodity through the broker company, this is known as "consist of trading market and trading field".
But foreign exchange business is done without any unification operation market and business network, it has no centralism unified place like the stock transaction. But, the foreign currency trading network actually is globally, and it has formed a organization which has no formal organization, the market is relied through an approval way and the advanced information system, Forex traders do not consist any membership qualification for any organization, but must obtain colleague’s trust and approval. This kind of Forex market which has no trading field is known as "consist of market but no trading field". Each day, the trading volume in the global Forex market involves billions of U.S dollars, the so huge large amount fund, is being control under both the non-centralism place and non central governance system, plus it is settle based on non-government governance.
2nd, Circulation work Due to the different geographical position of the various financial centre, the Asian market, the European market, the Americas market because of the time difference relations, it has become an entire day 24 hour continued operation whole world foreign exchange market.
Early morning 0830 (New York time) New York market opens, 0930 Chicago market opens, 1830 Sydney opens, 1930 Tokyo opens, 2030 Hong Kong, Singapore open, before dawn 1430 Frankfurt opens, 1530 o'clock London market opens. So 24 hours uninterrupted movements, the foreign exchange market becomes a day and night market, only on Saturday, Sunday as well as the various countries' significant holiday, the foreign exchange market only then can close.
This kind of continued operation, provided no time and spatial barrier ideal outlet for investors, the Forex trader may seek the best opportunity to carry on the transaction. For instance, Forex trader buys up the Japanese Yen in the morning at the New York market, in the evening Hong Kong market opens the Japanese Yen rises, the Forex trader sells in the Hong Kong market, no matter Forex trader in where, he all may participate in any market, any time business. Therefore, the foreign exchange market may say is does not have the time and the spatial barrier market.
3rd, Zero and Game In the stock market, the rise or the drop of stock market could influence the value of the stock whether to rise or drop, for example the Japanese new date iron stock price falls from 800 Japanese Yen to 400 Japanese Yen, the value of this stock has been reduced to half. However, in the foreign exchange market, the value of a stock and a currency is being calculated differently, this is because the exchange rate is refers to the exchange ratio both countries currency, the exchange rate change will influence one kind of monetary value to reduce and at the same time another kind of monetary value increase. For instance in 22 years ago, 1 US dollar exchanges 360 Japanese Yen, at present, 1 US dollar exchanges 110 Japanese Yen, this explains the Japanese Yen currency value rise, but US dollar currency value drops, in the end the value will not reduce or increase. Therefore, some people described the foreign currency trading is "zero and the game", exactly said is the wealth shift.
In recent years, investment foreign exchange market fund has continuously increased, the exchange rate fluctuation expands day by day, urges the wealth shift to be larger, the daily trading volume of the global foreign exchange involves 150 billion US dollars, the rise or falls 1%, means that the 150 billion funds has been shifted. Although the foreign exchange rate change is very big, but, any kind of currency will not become waste paper, even if some kind of currency unceasingly falls, however, but generally it represents certain value, only if such currency has been abolished.
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