EUR/USD is the most liquid currency pair in the currency markets. There are four currency pairs that are known as the major currency pairs namely EUR/USD, GBP/USD, CHF/USD and JPY/USD that are heavily traded in the global currency markets. The rest of the currency pairs dont have the liquidity to trade big volumes as these four pairs do. Almost like 90% of the global currency exchange is in these pairs. Out of these four pairs, EUR/USD has the most liquidity and is the most popular among the currency traders all over the world. EUR/USD is the most heavily traded currency pair in the global currency markets at the moment. Most of the currency traders are in fact speculators. Trading currencies can be exciting and lucrative. Its a great market because of the way politics affect the trends. Elections, strikes, and sudden developments, both good and bad, can lead to significant trading profits if you stand ready to trade the EUR/USD is a convenient currency pair because it encompasses the policies and the economic activity and political environment of a volatile but predictable part of the world: Europe.
Inflation is not good for any economy. Most central banks fight inflation by increasing or decreasing interest rates in the markets. In the United States, where the free-market approach and a usually vigilant Federal Reserve make more frequent adjustments on interest rates. France, Italy, and Germany, the largest members of the European Union (EU), normally operate under high budget deficits and tend to keep their interest rates more stable.
The general tendency of the Fed is to make the dollar trend for very long periods of time in one general direction. Here are some general tendencies of the euro on which you need to keep tabs aside from the technical analysis:
1) Given Germanys history of hyperinflation in the first half of the 20th century and the repercussions of that period, namely the rise of Hitler, the European Central Bank (ECB) is almost fanatical about inflation. That means that the European Central Bank raises interest rates more easily than it lowers them.
2) The US and the EU are two major trading partners. This gives EUR/USD currency pair very interesting characteristics. EUR/USD pair is affected by what is happening politically and economically both in Europe and the US. The European Central Banks actions become important when all other factors are equal, meaning politics are equally stable or unstable in the United States and Europe, and the two economies are growing. For example, if the U.S. economy is slowing down, money slowly starts to drift away from the dollar. In the past that meant money would move toward the Japanese yen; however, because the market knows that Japans central bank will sell yen, the default currency when the dollar weakens is often now the euro. USD is inversely correlated to the gold prices. All these facts should be taken into consideration while forming your bias about a particular currency pair.
3) EUR/USD currency pair is heavily influenced by the political developments in the Eurozone. Especially when the European economy is slowing The flip side is that the market becomes jittery and often sells the euro during political problems in the region.
As a word of caution, its okay to form an opinion and have some expectations, but the final and only truth that should make you trade is what the charts are showing you. As usual, you want to closely monitor major currencies and the cross rates. The direction that counts is the one in which the market is heading.
It is always best to choose only two or three currency pairs and become a specialist in them. Fundamental analysis can help you determine the strong/weak currency pair. Use fundamental analysis to determine if USD is expected to lose value and EUR is expected to gain more strength that means that the currency pair EUR/USD is perfectly timed for swing trading. Use technical analysis to make the entry and exit decision. Combining fundamental analysis with the technical analysis can give you the edge as a forex trader.
Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try These 1500 Pips A Day (http://www.ninjatraderblog.com/trading/2009/09/strignanos-forex-signals/) Forex Signals From Heaven. Know (http://www.ninjatraderblog.com/trading/2009/10/forex-rebellion/) Forex Rebellion!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Advantage of Automated Forex Trading System
Just how important is an automated system to the Forex trading system?
Before we answer that question, let us first determine how large Forex trading market is. From there, we will know the importance of automated systems for the Forex market.
It is true that the Forex market is the largest market around the world not just in terms of average daily turnover and average revenue per trader. It is also the largest market in terms of participants.
You name it, we’ve got it. Take a look at the following:
Reade More
Before we answer that question, let us first determine how large Forex trading market is. From there, we will know the importance of automated systems for the Forex market.
It is true that the Forex market is the largest market around the world not just in terms of average daily turnover and average revenue per trader. It is also the largest market in terms of participants.
You name it, we’ve got it. Take a look at the following:
Reade More
The Different Options You can Avail to Learn Forex Trading
Forex trading, a lot of people may already have heard of it, but not all know what it is all about. One may often think that it is for the 'big' ones, big businesses and organizations. But that is not so, in fact, there are a lot of ordinary individuals who are into forex trading.
Different countries or nations have different currencies. But not all currencies are traded in the FX market. There are seven major currencies traded in the market. Forex trading is the buying and selling of currencies in pair. You can possibly do the trade without a currency pair. A typical example is the US dollars/Japanese Yen. The basic of forex trading is to buy a currency at a lower price and sell it at a much higher price. But sometimes, having this knowledge is not enough. Forex trading involves a lot of different things that not all individuals have a proper knowledge on.
Forex trading takes place twenty four hours a day, so even when you're sleeping, the trade goes on. The FX market is by far the largest financial market in the whole world. That is why a lot of organizations and individuals are attracted to do the trade.
Before, large speculators, banks and currency traders ruled the FX market, but that is no longer true these days. There are now brokers who can help individuals and small companies by breaking down inter-bank units.
If you're interested in forex trading, you can do it alone, but try to attend a forex class first, or practice as an apprentice. The forex market is volatile, and new traders may find it hard because of the risks that it involves.
The last two options are much better especially if you are new in the FX market. This way, you can benefit a lot from having well-experienced instructors. You are to have a real time experience which you can use later on when you do your trade.
You have to understand the process of forex trading first. Remember that the FX market has no boundaries or barriers. So before jumping into the market, you have to know the right entry points.
Charting and mapping are also important aspects in forex trading. Charting software are readily available, you can secure one so that you can learn about it; as well as learning how to properly map it. Through this, you can see how the market moves. And you can now make good decisions whether to buy or sell a currency, and earn profits in return.
Another important thing to learn is forex trading psychology. You should know how to properly deal with all your losses, of course you can't expect to gain at all times. If for a short period you have made a lot of losses, perhaps its time to stop just for sometime. Don’t be carried away in doing the trade, otherwise you may incur a lot of losses.
New starters who instantly gain a lot of profits may think that they know too much. But it helps to know that it is not the same all throughout. Good profits oftentimes encourage more people to trading so much, without thinking of the risks. Discipline is one trait that you should practice and learn.
Starters, who go through forex trading on their own, without any help, are likely not to succeed in this kind of trade, not unless he or she is 'gifted'. Although they may enjoy a certain amount of profit, time will come when won't be able to keep up with the trade without knowledge of forex trading and its technical aspects.
As a trader, you alone can decide which option is best for you. Learning forex trading requires dedication, if you can pull it off on your own, good for you. But if you think that you need a little help, you are free to choose from the many forex trading classes offered; or you can be a broker's apprentice. Anyway you choose, you can learn so much about forex trading. And all your learning experiences can be of great importance once you do your actual trade.
There is no substitute to proper learning. It gives you a good grip about the trade, and you can be confident that you're making good decisions. These would reflect a lot from the profits that you are about to gain.
Different countries or nations have different currencies. But not all currencies are traded in the FX market. There are seven major currencies traded in the market. Forex trading is the buying and selling of currencies in pair. You can possibly do the trade without a currency pair. A typical example is the US dollars/Japanese Yen. The basic of forex trading is to buy a currency at a lower price and sell it at a much higher price. But sometimes, having this knowledge is not enough. Forex trading involves a lot of different things that not all individuals have a proper knowledge on.
Forex trading takes place twenty four hours a day, so even when you're sleeping, the trade goes on. The FX market is by far the largest financial market in the whole world. That is why a lot of organizations and individuals are attracted to do the trade.
Before, large speculators, banks and currency traders ruled the FX market, but that is no longer true these days. There are now brokers who can help individuals and small companies by breaking down inter-bank units.
If you're interested in forex trading, you can do it alone, but try to attend a forex class first, or practice as an apprentice. The forex market is volatile, and new traders may find it hard because of the risks that it involves.
The last two options are much better especially if you are new in the FX market. This way, you can benefit a lot from having well-experienced instructors. You are to have a real time experience which you can use later on when you do your trade.
You have to understand the process of forex trading first. Remember that the FX market has no boundaries or barriers. So before jumping into the market, you have to know the right entry points.
Charting and mapping are also important aspects in forex trading. Charting software are readily available, you can secure one so that you can learn about it; as well as learning how to properly map it. Through this, you can see how the market moves. And you can now make good decisions whether to buy or sell a currency, and earn profits in return.
Another important thing to learn is forex trading psychology. You should know how to properly deal with all your losses, of course you can't expect to gain at all times. If for a short period you have made a lot of losses, perhaps its time to stop just for sometime. Don’t be carried away in doing the trade, otherwise you may incur a lot of losses.
New starters who instantly gain a lot of profits may think that they know too much. But it helps to know that it is not the same all throughout. Good profits oftentimes encourage more people to trading so much, without thinking of the risks. Discipline is one trait that you should practice and learn.
Starters, who go through forex trading on their own, without any help, are likely not to succeed in this kind of trade, not unless he or she is 'gifted'. Although they may enjoy a certain amount of profit, time will come when won't be able to keep up with the trade without knowledge of forex trading and its technical aspects.
As a trader, you alone can decide which option is best for you. Learning forex trading requires dedication, if you can pull it off on your own, good for you. But if you think that you need a little help, you are free to choose from the many forex trading classes offered; or you can be a broker's apprentice. Anyway you choose, you can learn so much about forex trading. And all your learning experiences can be of great importance once you do your actual trade.
There is no substitute to proper learning. It gives you a good grip about the trade, and you can be confident that you're making good decisions. These would reflect a lot from the profits that you are about to gain.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
How to choose the Best Forex Software
When it comes to forex trading the forex software you choose is essential. There are so many forex trading companies all competing for your business that choosing the right forex software can be quite a difficult task. Most of the forex software products available offers live online forex trading platforms but what other components are vital when it comes to your forex software.
Key Elements For Your Forex Software
Before purchasing any forex software there are a few essential items that should be included. The most important is security and your online forex trading software should include a 128 bit SSL encryption which will prevent hackers from accessing any of your personal details and information such as your account balance, transaction history, etc.
Providing the best security for your forex trading will include a company that provides 24 hour technical server support for your forex software, 24 hour maintenance should anything go wrong, daily backups of all information, and a security system that has been designed to prevent any unauthorized access. Along with these security protocols there are also some forex trading companies that use smart cards and fingerprint scanners to ensure that only their employees can have access to their servers.
Another important factor when it comes to choosing your forex software is to check what the company’s downtime is like. When it comes to trading forex and particularly your online forex trading you need to ensure that the forex software you choose is reliable and available 24 hours a day. The forex software you choose for your forex trading should also have technical support available at all times should your session be cut short.
Ensuring that all the above features are listed in the forex software you choose will help to ensure your forex trading success.Anyway, a forex software is a must have if you want to earn money.
Key Elements For Your Forex Software
Before purchasing any forex software there are a few essential items that should be included. The most important is security and your online forex trading software should include a 128 bit SSL encryption which will prevent hackers from accessing any of your personal details and information such as your account balance, transaction history, etc.
Providing the best security for your forex trading will include a company that provides 24 hour technical server support for your forex software, 24 hour maintenance should anything go wrong, daily backups of all information, and a security system that has been designed to prevent any unauthorized access. Along with these security protocols there are also some forex trading companies that use smart cards and fingerprint scanners to ensure that only their employees can have access to their servers.
Another important factor when it comes to choosing your forex software is to check what the company’s downtime is like. When it comes to trading forex and particularly your online forex trading you need to ensure that the forex software you choose is reliable and available 24 hours a day. The forex software you choose for your forex trading should also have technical support available at all times should your session be cut short.
Ensuring that all the above features are listed in the forex software you choose will help to ensure your forex trading success.Anyway, a forex software is a must have if you want to earn money.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
How to Save Yourself from Forex Scam?
Forex trading is one of the best home based online business opportunity you can find today. The Big Sharks know that and use the demand for information about Forex market to get every possible dollar in their hands.
Who are they? The answer is always easy – Follow the Money. There is one player on currency market (and in every other market) who never loses his share in every single trade. Brokerage service on Forex trading is claimed to be commission free, right? But you always pay your minimum 3 to 10 pips fee on each trade. Where those 3 to 10 pips go? Make your best guess!
There is almost no chance for a person who has no idea for the forces driving the Info market to save himself from being robbed and abused by those well advertised money machines. You can see their banners on your e-mail provider. You can watch their infomercials on every TV channel.
Be aware about the presence of those Big Sharks and be sure that the information they will try to sell to you is always available for free online. Most of the time the quality and the real value of that free information is much better than the one you will be asked to pay for.
Here is the story of a good friend of mine. He was very excited about Forex when he first time heard about it. That happened to be on one of those popular free seminars, organized by one of the Big Sharks on that field. So he got the bite without paying attention for the hook in it. He went to the next level – two days training for $1,995, only.
He came back more excited. He opened Forex trading account on that seminar, using a special form provided by the Big Shark Company. They honestly declared that by doing that the broker agrees to pay them one pip from each trade made by the customer recruited by them.
My friend started real trading, constantly increasing the amount of his investment until he put all of his savings into that Forex trading account. Everything was fine until one beautiful day of October. On that day he got the news: his broker filed under chapter 11.
He was broke. I asked him how successful was his trading? His answer was that he actually lost 30% of his investment, from trading, only. He was able to realize know that the training was completely inefficient and not even close enough to start trading with real money.
Something big was missing here. He was missing the big picture in the entire game. His trading experience was very frustrating. After each trade he felt like just hit the wall with a car flying with 100 miles per hour.
A few days ago my friend called me on the phone. He was very enthusiastic about a new Forex training package, just delivered to him. I decided to check it by myself, too.
The package is very detailed. All the missing information about the big picture is there. More than 20 hours of free videos are revealing all you need to know about that business. Zooming towards Forex trading is very smooth and on the level every beginner and advanced trader will tremendously benefit of.
The one unbeatable and shocking advantage of this package is that it delivers information, priced from between $3,000 and $10,000, for free.
Finally we got something valuable about Forex trading, very professionally developed, for free.
Probably, that will put the Big Sharks business on hold for awhile, for the good sake to all of us.
So, be careful and keep an eye on the Internet unlimited free resources if you want to self yourself from the Forex scam.
Happy Forex trading!
Who are they? The answer is always easy – Follow the Money. There is one player on currency market (and in every other market) who never loses his share in every single trade. Brokerage service on Forex trading is claimed to be commission free, right? But you always pay your minimum 3 to 10 pips fee on each trade. Where those 3 to 10 pips go? Make your best guess!
There is almost no chance for a person who has no idea for the forces driving the Info market to save himself from being robbed and abused by those well advertised money machines. You can see their banners on your e-mail provider. You can watch their infomercials on every TV channel.
Be aware about the presence of those Big Sharks and be sure that the information they will try to sell to you is always available for free online. Most of the time the quality and the real value of that free information is much better than the one you will be asked to pay for.
Here is the story of a good friend of mine. He was very excited about Forex when he first time heard about it. That happened to be on one of those popular free seminars, organized by one of the Big Sharks on that field. So he got the bite without paying attention for the hook in it. He went to the next level – two days training for $1,995, only.
He came back more excited. He opened Forex trading account on that seminar, using a special form provided by the Big Shark Company. They honestly declared that by doing that the broker agrees to pay them one pip from each trade made by the customer recruited by them.
My friend started real trading, constantly increasing the amount of his investment until he put all of his savings into that Forex trading account. Everything was fine until one beautiful day of October. On that day he got the news: his broker filed under chapter 11.
He was broke. I asked him how successful was his trading? His answer was that he actually lost 30% of his investment, from trading, only. He was able to realize know that the training was completely inefficient and not even close enough to start trading with real money.
Something big was missing here. He was missing the big picture in the entire game. His trading experience was very frustrating. After each trade he felt like just hit the wall with a car flying with 100 miles per hour.
A few days ago my friend called me on the phone. He was very enthusiastic about a new Forex training package, just delivered to him. I decided to check it by myself, too.
The package is very detailed. All the missing information about the big picture is there. More than 20 hours of free videos are revealing all you need to know about that business. Zooming towards Forex trading is very smooth and on the level every beginner and advanced trader will tremendously benefit of.
The one unbeatable and shocking advantage of this package is that it delivers information, priced from between $3,000 and $10,000, for free.
Finally we got something valuable about Forex trading, very professionally developed, for free.
Probably, that will put the Big Sharks business on hold for awhile, for the good sake to all of us.
So, be careful and keep an eye on the Internet unlimited free resources if you want to self yourself from the Forex scam.
Happy Forex trading!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Forex Trading -Can you invest and Make Money?
Forex trading is all about putting your money into other currencies, so you can gain the interest for the night, for time period or the difference in trading money all around. Forex trading does involve other assets along with money, but because you are investing in other countries and in other businesses that are dealing in other currencies the basis for the money you make or lose will be based on the trading of money.
Constant trading is done in the forex markets as time zones will vary and the markets will open in one country while another is near closing. What happens in one market will have an effect on the other countries forex markets, but it is not always bad or good, sometimes the margins of trading are near each other.
A forex market will be present when two countries are involved in trading, and when money is traded for goods, services or a combination of these things. Currency is the money that trades hands, from one to another. Often times, a bank is going to be the source of forex trading, as millions of dollars are traded daily. There is nearly two trillion dollars traded daily on the forex market. Should you get involved in forex trading? If you are already involved in the stock market, you have some idea of what forex trading really is all about.
The stock market involves buying shares of a company, and you watch how that company does, waiting for a bigger return. In the forex markets, you are purchasing items or products, or goods, and you are paying money for them. As you do this, you are gaining or losing as the currency exchange differs daily from country to country. To better prepare you for the forex markets you can learn about trading and purchasing online using free 'game' like software.
You will log on and create an account. Entering information about what you are interested in and what you want to do. The 'game' will allow you to make purchases and trades, involving different currencies, so you can then see first hand what a gain or loss will be like. As you continue on with this fake account you will see first hand how to make decisions based on what you know, which means you will have to read about the market changes or you will have to take a brokers information at value and play from there.
If you, as an individual want to be involved in forex trading, you must get involved through broker, or a financial institution. Individuals are also known as spectators, even if you are investing money because the amount of money you are investing is minimal compared to the millions of dollars that are invested by governments and by banks at any given time.
This does not mean you can't get involved. Your broker or investment advisor will be able to tell you more about how you can be involved in forex trading. In the US, there are many regulations and laws in regards to who can handle forex trading for US citizens so if you are searching the internet for a broker, be sure you read the print, and the information about where the company is located and if it is legal for you to do business with that company.
Constant trading is done in the forex markets as time zones will vary and the markets will open in one country while another is near closing. What happens in one market will have an effect on the other countries forex markets, but it is not always bad or good, sometimes the margins of trading are near each other.
A forex market will be present when two countries are involved in trading, and when money is traded for goods, services or a combination of these things. Currency is the money that trades hands, from one to another. Often times, a bank is going to be the source of forex trading, as millions of dollars are traded daily. There is nearly two trillion dollars traded daily on the forex market. Should you get involved in forex trading? If you are already involved in the stock market, you have some idea of what forex trading really is all about.
The stock market involves buying shares of a company, and you watch how that company does, waiting for a bigger return. In the forex markets, you are purchasing items or products, or goods, and you are paying money for them. As you do this, you are gaining or losing as the currency exchange differs daily from country to country. To better prepare you for the forex markets you can learn about trading and purchasing online using free 'game' like software.
You will log on and create an account. Entering information about what you are interested in and what you want to do. The 'game' will allow you to make purchases and trades, involving different currencies, so you can then see first hand what a gain or loss will be like. As you continue on with this fake account you will see first hand how to make decisions based on what you know, which means you will have to read about the market changes or you will have to take a brokers information at value and play from there.
If you, as an individual want to be involved in forex trading, you must get involved through broker, or a financial institution. Individuals are also known as spectators, even if you are investing money because the amount of money you are investing is minimal compared to the millions of dollars that are invested by governments and by banks at any given time.
This does not mean you can't get involved. Your broker or investment advisor will be able to tell you more about how you can be involved in forex trading. In the US, there are many regulations and laws in regards to who can handle forex trading for US citizens so if you are searching the internet for a broker, be sure you read the print, and the information about where the company is located and if it is legal for you to do business with that company.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
How to Start Trading The Forex Market
How Currencies are quoted and what moves individual currencies?
ONE of the best advantages in FOREX Trading is The amount of money you need to place a trade (known as "margin") is all that can be lost.
You have to know, that despite the super-high leverage offered by some Forex brokers up to (400:1); meaning if you put up $ 1000 the broker will allow you to trade like you really have $400.000).
Forex trading is still less risky than Stock or Futures Trading, where you can loose more than you have deposited in your account.
This type of LEVERAGE does NOT EXIST in the equities or futures market
In the Equities or Futures markets, very often, sudden and dramatic moves occur, against which you can’t protect yourself, even by having placed your protective stops.
Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you’ll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account.
But because of the FX market’s deep liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are almost eliminated.
Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills. And finally, there are no margin calls. For your protection, the broker will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity falls below the level required to hold the positions.
Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance.
Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “ LOTS”
In Forex trading, with most Brokers, you have the choice between 2 different lot sizes.
Standard Lots or Mini Lots.
One Standard lot is equal to $100,000 in currency. The margin requirements, using a 400:1 Leverage, would be US$ 250, in other word you control $100,000 worth of currency for only 250 US dollars.
You mean, depositing $250 with a broker, I could trade 100,000$ worth of currency ???
NO, be aware, that your account size has to be more than the required margin of US 250. For example, if you place an order to buy 1 Standard lot ( @100,000) of USD/JPY and USD/JPY is quoted as 112.10/112.13, you buy USD/JPY at 112.13.
Your account balance would be $220, because you paid 3 pips or $ 30 for this trade.
If you would close this trade immediately, you have to sell it at 112.10 (the bid price) , for a loss of $ 30.
In fact you could not get executed on this trade, as the brokers trading platform would reject your order, for the reason of having insufficient funds in your account).
So, your account balance has to be minimum $280. $250 for margin and $30 for the trade.
BUT....IF, after you have initiated the trade to buy USD/JPY at 112.13, and the USD/JPY falls the next second 1 pip ( approx. $8), your position would be closed automatically, because of margin deficit.
I will explain later about having an adequate account size to trade the Forex Market.
Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded.
The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.
Some of the most common symbols used in Forex are:
USD - The US Dollar EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO"GBP - The British Pound or cableJPY - The Japanese YenCHF - The Swiss FrancAUD - The Australian DollarCAD - The Canadian Dollar
There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.
A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade the USD by itself. You always need to BUY one currency and SELL another currency to make a trade possible.
Some of the most traded currency pairs are:
EUR/USD Euro against US Dollar
USD/JPY US Dollar against Japanese Yen
GBP/USD British Pound against US Dollar USD/CAD US Dollar against Canadian Dollar
AUD/USD Australian Dollar against US Dollar
USD/CHF US Dollar against Swiss Franc
EUR/JPY Euro against Japanese Yen
The currency left of the / is called the base currency.
The currency right of the / is called the counter currency.
When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD.
If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency.
The best way to remember is, by just thinking of the entire currency pair as one item.
If you buy it...you buy the first currency and sell the second currency. If you sell it...you sell the first currency and buy the second currency.
That means you would to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you could make money when the market drops as well as when it rises.
The problem with traditional stock market or commodity trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.
ONE of the best advantages in FOREX Trading is The amount of money you need to place a trade (known as "margin") is all that can be lost.
You have to know, that despite the super-high leverage offered by some Forex brokers up to (400:1); meaning if you put up $ 1000 the broker will allow you to trade like you really have $400.000).
Forex trading is still less risky than Stock or Futures Trading, where you can loose more than you have deposited in your account.
This type of LEVERAGE does NOT EXIST in the equities or futures market
In the Equities or Futures markets, very often, sudden and dramatic moves occur, against which you can’t protect yourself, even by having placed your protective stops.
Your position may be liquidated at a loss, and you’ll be liable for any resulting deficit in the account.
But because of the FX market’s deep liquidity and 24-hour, continuous trading, dangerous trading gaps and limit moves are almost eliminated.
Orders are executed quickly, without slippage or partial fills. And finally, there are no margin calls. For your protection, the broker will automatically close out some or all of your open positions if your account equity falls below the level required to hold the positions.
Think of this as a final, automatic stop, always working on your behalf to prevent a debit balance.
Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called “ LOTS”
In Forex trading, with most Brokers, you have the choice between 2 different lot sizes.
Standard Lots or Mini Lots.
One Standard lot is equal to $100,000 in currency. The margin requirements, using a 400:1 Leverage, would be US$ 250, in other word you control $100,000 worth of currency for only 250 US dollars.
You mean, depositing $250 with a broker, I could trade 100,000$ worth of currency ???
NO, be aware, that your account size has to be more than the required margin of US 250. For example, if you place an order to buy 1 Standard lot ( @100,000) of USD/JPY and USD/JPY is quoted as 112.10/112.13, you buy USD/JPY at 112.13.
Your account balance would be $220, because you paid 3 pips or $ 30 for this trade.
If you would close this trade immediately, you have to sell it at 112.10 (the bid price) , for a loss of $ 30.
In fact you could not get executed on this trade, as the brokers trading platform would reject your order, for the reason of having insufficient funds in your account).
So, your account balance has to be minimum $280. $250 for margin and $30 for the trade.
BUT....IF, after you have initiated the trade to buy USD/JPY at 112.13, and the USD/JPY falls the next second 1 pip ( approx. $8), your position would be closed automatically, because of margin deficit.
I will explain later about having an adequate account size to trade the Forex Market.
Currencies are always traded in pairs in the FOREX. The pairs have a unique notation that expresses what currencies are being traded.
The symbol for a currency pair will always be in the form ABC/DEF. ABC/DEF is not a real currency pair, it is an example of a symbol for a currency pair. In this example ABC is the symbol for one countries currency and DEF is the symbol for another countries currency.
Some of the most common symbols used in Forex are:
USD - The US Dollar EUR - The currency of the European Union "EURO"GBP - The British Pound or cableJPY - The Japanese YenCHF - The Swiss FrancAUD - The Australian DollarCAD - The Canadian Dollar
There are symbols for other currencies as well, but these are the most commonly traded ones.
A currency can never be traded by itself. So you can not ever trade the USD by itself. You always need to BUY one currency and SELL another currency to make a trade possible.
Some of the most traded currency pairs are:
EUR/USD Euro against US Dollar
USD/JPY US Dollar against Japanese Yen
GBP/USD British Pound against US Dollar USD/CAD US Dollar against Canadian Dollar
AUD/USD Australian Dollar against US Dollar
USD/CHF US Dollar against Swiss Franc
EUR/JPY Euro against Japanese Yen
The currency left of the / is called the base currency.
The currency right of the / is called the counter currency.
When you place an order to buy the EUR/USD, for instance, you are actually buying the EUR and selling the USD.
If you were to sell the pair, you would be selling the EUR and buying the USD. So if you buy or sell a currency PAIR, you are buying/selling the base currency.
The best way to remember is, by just thinking of the entire currency pair as one item.
If you buy it...you buy the first currency and sell the second currency. If you sell it...you sell the first currency and buy the second currency.
That means you would to be able to short-sell with no restrictions so you could make money when the market drops as well as when it rises.
The problem with traditional stock market or commodity trading is that the market has to go up for you to make money. With FOREX trading you can make money in all directions.
