FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few
markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external
controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market,
with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving
this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly
affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that
unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few
seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.
To make money trading forex requires a forex broker to have discipline in following the
rules of the “game”. If you can stay focused and follow a system regardless of the market
conditions, then you can make money trading forex.
Over the past few years we have seen the Forex market skyrocket in terms of popularity with
investors. There is good reason for this. The currency market requires little start up
capital, trades 24 hours a day, and with the power of leverage can turn out gigantic
profits. So how does one tackle this kind of beast? Here are 3 ways to make money trading
the Forex today.
1. Choose the right style for you.
There are a few styles of the Forex investors. You may feel comfortable with scalping, this
means frequently trading and earning a few pips at a time. Others prefer to "hedge" their
trades by going long and short at the same time. Some like to get in on the big moves and
may have a trade open for days. In this case you can really hit a home run and turn out some
huge profits but also expose yourself to risk.
2. Choose the right strategy. Now that you have decided on a style you need to choose a
strategy. There are literally hundreds of different strategies out there that rely on
signals like moving averages, RSI indicators, stochastics, Bollinger Bands, Fibonacci, ect.
Choose a strategy that will fit in with your style of investing.
3. Use software to automate the two. There are a quite a few advantages to using automated
Forex trading software. Just to name a couple, firstly you can trade your strategy 24 hours
a day. This way you won't miss any big moves that could have happened while you were out or
sleeping. Second it completely eliminates human emotion from trading. No matter how great a
trader you are, often times emotions can play a big part. With a Forex robot this is not a
problem. When it gets a signal it trades it.
Forex profitability is not a pipe dream
I know as a beginner it can be quite difficult to decide on what avenue to take. But
understand that many folks who are Forex novices make a living trading the currency market
because they simply have the right strategies in place.
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Saturday, September 12, 2009
Forex Trading Tips To Help Beginners
In The Foreign Exchange Market Are you one of those who have heard about Forex trading but not sure what it really is? Or
you would like to find forex trading tips on how it works and if you can make money out of
it, but not sure whom to ask? Well, I can tell you are not alone in this situation. Many
people think that they are familiar with Forex trading, but in reality, most of them think
that forex trading has something to do with stocks or bonds.
Forex trading is different from stocks or bonds. It is a type of trading that involves
trading of currency pairs. The currencies that are usually chosen for trading are considered
above the rest because they are stable and have a greater value than other foreign
currencies.
For all the newcomers to the forex market, the first piece of tips is to protect themselves
from frauds. If you’re new in forex trading, it doesn’t hurt to take some advice from the
ones who are already engaged in forex trading. In fact, you can make use of their tips for
your own good, and even to your advantage.
People across the globe participate in forex trading and that’s why it is not surprising to
see the kind of frauds that are able to infiltrate the financial market. To shield the
legitimate traders from these frauds, they must be made aware of these growing facts, so
that they can take suitable actions to protect their trading career.
The opportunities that forex trading provides for different individuals, firms, and
organizations is growing rapidly every year. And accompanying this growth is the widespread
growth of different scams related with forex trading. But you should not worry because there
are a lot of legitimate companies or firms that can help you in forex trading.
The best thing to do is to find these legitimate companies to stay away from fraudulent
ones. However, most new traders fall prey to these scammers because of their savory offers.
Don’t get fooled by the companies that advertise high profits for minimal risks. The fact is
that, if you want to earn high profits, then you are likely subjected to high risks as well.
Higher rate of profit means higher risk.
So, always stay on the safer side. If you’re looking for a forex trading broker, and since
each broker is part of a certain company, make sure that you select a government registered
company. In signing any contract with them, double check if they are registered or certified
brokers. This is one basic precaution that will prevent any misfortune that you might
encounter in the future.
The job of reducing the risk is entirely yours, not that of the broker; so if the company
offers or promises little risks, guaranteed profits, and the like, that is a sure sign that
they are there to make a fool out of you.
Even if you are not a professional trader, a little use of the common sense can help in long
run.
Before actually participating in any forex trade, make sure you have done your homework. Do
the research and jot down all the necessary details about the trading transaction that you
wish to perform. Ever heard of inter-bank market? Stay away from companies which lure you
into trading in the inter-bank market because the currency transactions are negotiated in a
wobbly network of large companies and financial institutions.
Also, make sure to check the background or history of the trading company. If a certain
company does not disclose information about their background, that should serve as a red
flag. It means that you should continue doing transactions with them. Nor is it advisable to
transfer/send cash through the mail or the internet. Practice caution in everything you do,
and you’ll be more than sure that you are always safe.
Fraudulent companies often solicit services and advertise soaring pressure tactics to
attract you in participating or joining their services. An offshore company which guarantees
no risk and return of profit is a big NO. Always be skeptical and don’t give in to any
instant offer that comes your way.
What forex trading tips would you like to know about? Check out the professional advice
below
- Get the latest information on online forex trading brokers system
- Help on learning forex trading
- Recommended forex trading courses
- What you should know about forex trading software
- Advice on forex mobile trading software
- More about forex trading signal software
Take a carefully evaluated decision about your trading company or transaction. These pieces
of advice are merely to guide you. Ultimately, it will entirely depend on you to identify
and reject offers from fraud companies. One wrong decision could seriously jeopardize you
trading career, so act wisely.
The success of Forex trading, like any other trading, lies in your ability to buy for less
and sell for more. You can trade in Forex market successfully if you keep patience and a
little diligence. You can also safeguard yourself from Forex trading frauds if you stay
alert and skeptical.
you would like to find forex trading tips on how it works and if you can make money out of
it, but not sure whom to ask? Well, I can tell you are not alone in this situation. Many
people think that they are familiar with Forex trading, but in reality, most of them think
that forex trading has something to do with stocks or bonds.
Forex trading is different from stocks or bonds. It is a type of trading that involves
trading of currency pairs. The currencies that are usually chosen for trading are considered
above the rest because they are stable and have a greater value than other foreign
currencies.
For all the newcomers to the forex market, the first piece of tips is to protect themselves
from frauds. If you’re new in forex trading, it doesn’t hurt to take some advice from the
ones who are already engaged in forex trading. In fact, you can make use of their tips for
your own good, and even to your advantage.
People across the globe participate in forex trading and that’s why it is not surprising to
see the kind of frauds that are able to infiltrate the financial market. To shield the
legitimate traders from these frauds, they must be made aware of these growing facts, so
that they can take suitable actions to protect their trading career.
The opportunities that forex trading provides for different individuals, firms, and
organizations is growing rapidly every year. And accompanying this growth is the widespread
growth of different scams related with forex trading. But you should not worry because there
are a lot of legitimate companies or firms that can help you in forex trading.
The best thing to do is to find these legitimate companies to stay away from fraudulent
ones. However, most new traders fall prey to these scammers because of their savory offers.
Don’t get fooled by the companies that advertise high profits for minimal risks. The fact is
that, if you want to earn high profits, then you are likely subjected to high risks as well.
Higher rate of profit means higher risk.
So, always stay on the safer side. If you’re looking for a forex trading broker, and since
each broker is part of a certain company, make sure that you select a government registered
company. In signing any contract with them, double check if they are registered or certified
brokers. This is one basic precaution that will prevent any misfortune that you might
encounter in the future.
The job of reducing the risk is entirely yours, not that of the broker; so if the company
offers or promises little risks, guaranteed profits, and the like, that is a sure sign that
they are there to make a fool out of you.
Even if you are not a professional trader, a little use of the common sense can help in long
run.
Before actually participating in any forex trade, make sure you have done your homework. Do
the research and jot down all the necessary details about the trading transaction that you
wish to perform. Ever heard of inter-bank market? Stay away from companies which lure you
into trading in the inter-bank market because the currency transactions are negotiated in a
wobbly network of large companies and financial institutions.
Also, make sure to check the background or history of the trading company. If a certain
company does not disclose information about their background, that should serve as a red
flag. It means that you should continue doing transactions with them. Nor is it advisable to
transfer/send cash through the mail or the internet. Practice caution in everything you do,
and you’ll be more than sure that you are always safe.
Fraudulent companies often solicit services and advertise soaring pressure tactics to
attract you in participating or joining their services. An offshore company which guarantees
no risk and return of profit is a big NO. Always be skeptical and don’t give in to any
instant offer that comes your way.
What forex trading tips would you like to know about? Check out the professional advice
below
- Get the latest information on online forex trading brokers system
- Help on learning forex trading
- Recommended forex trading courses
- What you should know about forex trading software
- Advice on forex mobile trading software
- More about forex trading signal software
Take a carefully evaluated decision about your trading company or transaction. These pieces
of advice are merely to guide you. Ultimately, it will entirely depend on you to identify
and reject offers from fraud companies. One wrong decision could seriously jeopardize you
trading career, so act wisely.
The success of Forex trading, like any other trading, lies in your ability to buy for less
and sell for more. You can trade in Forex market successfully if you keep patience and a
little diligence. You can also safeguard yourself from Forex trading frauds if you stay
alert and skeptical.
Why should I learn forex?
If you hear from anyone that making money in Forex is easy, do not believe. It is a myth. The truth is – being profitable in Forex requires a lot of work, dedication, learn, practice, more than a good discipline, sharp knowledge of money management and understanding of the psychology of the currency market. Learn Forex before you start Trading, because to Earn you should Learn Forex.
If you are ready to Learn Forex / start Forex Trading, then this blog is for you. Here you will learn all details about forex / forex trading,
1) You will learn what is Forex and how to trade forex.2) You will learn forex strategy / forex trading technique / forex trick.3) You will learn how to draw forex trendline.4) You will learn how to determine support and resistance.5) You will learn how to use forex chart / forex indicator for entry & exit in forex market.6) You will learn about risk management & money management.7) You will learn how to calculate forex profit / losses and MORE.
Learn Forex: What Is It And How Does It Work? -
The currency (foreign exchange) market is the largest and oldest financial market in the world. It is also called the foreign exchange market, or "FOREX" or "FX" market for short. It is the biggest and most liquid market in the world with daily average turnover of US$1.9 trillion, and it is traded mainly through the 24 hour-a-day inter-bank currency market - the primary market for currencies.
Foreign Exchange simply means the buying of one currency and selling another at the same time. In other words, the currency of one country is exchanged for those of another. The currencies of the world are on a floating exchange rate, and are always traded in pairs
There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency.
The other 95% is trading for profit, or what you call speculation. Investors frequently trade on information they believe to be superior and relevant, when in fact it is not and is fully discounted by the market.
Unlike the futures and stock markets, trading of currencies is not centralized on an exchange. Forex literally follows the sun around the world. Trading moves from major banking centers of the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand, to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the U.S.
Currency Symbol / Currency Pair
EUR/USD = Euro / US DollarGBP/USD = Pounds Sterling/ US DollarUSD/JPY = US Dollar / Japanese YenUSD/CHF = US Dollar / Swiss FrancUSD/CAD = US Dollar / Canadian DollarAUD/USD = Australian Dollar / US DollarNZD/USD = New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar
Etc.
In excess of 85 percent of all daily transactions involve trading of the major currencies - Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, and the U.S. Dollar.
Currencies are traded in pairs, meaning that you are really trading one currency for another. A simple way to understand this is to consider what you do when you go on foreign vacations. If you are an USA, and you plan to travel to another country, say Canada, then you might take say $10,000 USD to the bank to change it for Canadian dollars. Let’s say the exchange rate is 1.4000, then for your $10,000 USD they would give you $14,000 CAD. Now let’s say you didn’t spend the money and upon coming home you decide to change it back to USD currency. Now let’s say the exchange rate is 1.3700 (a change of 300 pips that could happen in a week), so your $14,000 CAD would convert back to $10,218.97 US. Therefore you just made $218.97, a 2.19% increase in funds.
Reading a FOREX quote may seem a bit confusing at first. However, it's really quite simple, when you see Forex quotes you will actually see two numbers. The first number is called the bid and the second number is called the offer/ask. If we use the USD/JPY as example 115.37/115.40 the first number 115.37 is the bid price and is the price traders are prepared to buy USD against the JPY. The second number 115.40 is the offer price and is the price traders are prepared to sell the USD against the JPY.
Here in USD/JPY the currency listed first (USD) is the base currency and & the value of the base currency is always 1. A quote of USD/JPY 115 means that one U.S. dollar is equal to 115 Japanese yen. When this currency quote goes up, it means the dollar has appreciated in value and the other currency has weakened. If the USD/JPY quote increases from 115 to 117, it indicate dollar is stronger because it will now buy more yen than before.
What Next
Well now we have a basic understanding of how Forex market works what next? Now you are going to decide best way to trade the Forex market. The most common approaches are Forex fundamental analysis and Forex technical analysis.
Forex Fundamental analysis: Usually everyday, and often more than once a day, the currency pair will be moving along slowly (sideways movement, consolidation) and then all of a sudden it JUMPS! It very quickly moves up ten or more pips, usually in just a minute, and often continues to move strongly for another hour or so.
This is due to the release of a “Fundamental Announcement”, and of course any experienced trader should understand that they usually create a market movement.
Forex Technical Analysis: It is technique to learn Forex market using chart and indicator to predict the future price of a security.
WHAT YOU NEED
**BROKER:
A broker that provide good platform to trade Forex. MARKETIVA provide very good platform for Forex trading and also give $5 free to open an account.
**Learn Forex Money Management and Risk Analysis:
However, it is common that one afraid of being involved in Forex market because of high risk in this trading field. Although every capital market involves certain level of risk, the risk of loss in foreign currency trading market can be extensive. It would be wise to learn about the potential risk (and managing it) if you wish to trade in Forex market.
If you are ready to Learn Forex / start Forex Trading, then this blog is for you. Here you will learn all details about forex / forex trading,
1) You will learn what is Forex and how to trade forex.2) You will learn forex strategy / forex trading technique / forex trick.3) You will learn how to draw forex trendline.4) You will learn how to determine support and resistance.5) You will learn how to use forex chart / forex indicator for entry & exit in forex market.6) You will learn about risk management & money management.7) You will learn how to calculate forex profit / losses and MORE.
Learn Forex: What Is It And How Does It Work? -
The currency (foreign exchange) market is the largest and oldest financial market in the world. It is also called the foreign exchange market, or "FOREX" or "FX" market for short. It is the biggest and most liquid market in the world with daily average turnover of US$1.9 trillion, and it is traded mainly through the 24 hour-a-day inter-bank currency market - the primary market for currencies.
Foreign Exchange simply means the buying of one currency and selling another at the same time. In other words, the currency of one country is exchanged for those of another. The currencies of the world are on a floating exchange rate, and are always traded in pairs
There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency.
The other 95% is trading for profit, or what you call speculation. Investors frequently trade on information they believe to be superior and relevant, when in fact it is not and is fully discounted by the market.
Unlike the futures and stock markets, trading of currencies is not centralized on an exchange. Forex literally follows the sun around the world. Trading moves from major banking centers of the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand, to the Far East, to Europe and finally back to the U.S.
Currency Symbol / Currency Pair
EUR/USD = Euro / US DollarGBP/USD = Pounds Sterling/ US DollarUSD/JPY = US Dollar / Japanese YenUSD/CHF = US Dollar / Swiss FrancUSD/CAD = US Dollar / Canadian DollarAUD/USD = Australian Dollar / US DollarNZD/USD = New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar
Etc.
In excess of 85 percent of all daily transactions involve trading of the major currencies - Australian Dollar, British Pound, Canadian Dollar, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, and the U.S. Dollar.
Currencies are traded in pairs, meaning that you are really trading one currency for another. A simple way to understand this is to consider what you do when you go on foreign vacations. If you are an USA, and you plan to travel to another country, say Canada, then you might take say $10,000 USD to the bank to change it for Canadian dollars. Let’s say the exchange rate is 1.4000, then for your $10,000 USD they would give you $14,000 CAD. Now let’s say you didn’t spend the money and upon coming home you decide to change it back to USD currency. Now let’s say the exchange rate is 1.3700 (a change of 300 pips that could happen in a week), so your $14,000 CAD would convert back to $10,218.97 US. Therefore you just made $218.97, a 2.19% increase in funds.
Reading a FOREX quote may seem a bit confusing at first. However, it's really quite simple, when you see Forex quotes you will actually see two numbers. The first number is called the bid and the second number is called the offer/ask. If we use the USD/JPY as example 115.37/115.40 the first number 115.37 is the bid price and is the price traders are prepared to buy USD against the JPY. The second number 115.40 is the offer price and is the price traders are prepared to sell the USD against the JPY.
Here in USD/JPY the currency listed first (USD) is the base currency and & the value of the base currency is always 1. A quote of USD/JPY 115 means that one U.S. dollar is equal to 115 Japanese yen. When this currency quote goes up, it means the dollar has appreciated in value and the other currency has weakened. If the USD/JPY quote increases from 115 to 117, it indicate dollar is stronger because it will now buy more yen than before.
What Next
Well now we have a basic understanding of how Forex market works what next? Now you are going to decide best way to trade the Forex market. The most common approaches are Forex fundamental analysis and Forex technical analysis.
Forex Fundamental analysis: Usually everyday, and often more than once a day, the currency pair will be moving along slowly (sideways movement, consolidation) and then all of a sudden it JUMPS! It very quickly moves up ten or more pips, usually in just a minute, and often continues to move strongly for another hour or so.
This is due to the release of a “Fundamental Announcement”, and of course any experienced trader should understand that they usually create a market movement.
Forex Technical Analysis: It is technique to learn Forex market using chart and indicator to predict the future price of a security.
WHAT YOU NEED
**BROKER:
A broker that provide good platform to trade Forex. MARKETIVA provide very good platform for Forex trading and also give $5 free to open an account.
**Learn Forex Money Management and Risk Analysis:
However, it is common that one afraid of being involved in Forex market because of high risk in this trading field. Although every capital market involves certain level of risk, the risk of loss in foreign currency trading market can be extensive. It would be wise to learn about the potential risk (and managing it) if you wish to trade in Forex market.
A Beginner's Guide to Forex Currency
Trading Forex currency trading (or Foreign Exchange trading) is one of the most lucrative forms of stock trading today. The Forex market was once limited to lending institutions and government banks, but is now open to all investors. If you are currently a stock investor or are interested in stocks, then you don't want to miss the amazing opportunity the Forex market offers. More than $2 trillion dollars in currencies are being traded daily with Forex currency trading!
This brief beginner's guide will explain what Forex currency trading is and how it can benefit you. Also, the guide will show you how to avoid the pitfalls of Forex currency trading.
Explanation of Forex Currency Trading
If you're familiar with the stock market, then you already know how much research it takes to keep up with the thousands of companies in the market. You could spend hours per day trying to find stocks with the most profit potential and the least amount of risk. With Forex currency trading, this element of trading is almost non-existent. Why? Because Forex currency trading focuses on one type of stock - foreign currency exchange rates.
Buying and Selling in the Forex Currency Trading Market
With Forex currency trading, you are actually buying or selling a "pair" of foreign currencies online, by phone or other methods. "Pair" means two currencies that are being compared by pip, or a common denominator between the two currency values. Bids are placed for the pair based on what buyers are willing to pay. An asking price is what sellers are willing to take at any given time.
For example, you might buy Euro dollars with your US dollars, so you are actually buying the EUR/USD pair. The pair will either increase or decrease, depending on what buyers are willing to bid, giving you a gain or loss for your investment.
The rise and fall of pips in Forex currency trading will depend on each country's foreign exchange rate. The exchange rates can be affected by interest rates, unemployment rates, inflation, national events or disasters. If you have ever traveled to a foreign land, then you understand that your own currency could either be worth more or less than the currency of that nation.
Forex Currency Trading Leverage
Many Forex currency trading firms will allow you a leverage of 100:1 for your trading. Some will offer even more. If you have a 100:1 leverage, you can invest $1,000 of your own money, but trade $100,000! You can actually double your money with an increase of only one pip. However, you can also lose your entire investment with a decrease. This could equal big profits or losses, so be sure to consider the risks before jumping in with both feet.
Major Benefits of Forex Currency Trading
There are several major benefits of Forex currency trading. The Forex market is non-stop. You can trade 24 hours a day easily online from your own home computer. Though the risk is high, the profits can be tremendous. There is also a very high leverage with Forex currency trading, giving you more trading freedom than ever. There are no brokerage or commission fees to pay, and no restrictions on short selling.
Avoid Pitfalls in Forex Currency Trading
There are a few things to watch out for as a new investor. Be sure to choose a dependable registered broker. Be sure to research the company before you commit. Avoid trading mishaps by trying out a Forex currency trading demo first. There are some great demos available on the Web to help you become familiar with the Forex market and how it works. Most Forex currency trading brokers will allow you to have a free 30 day trial of their software making "paper" transactions to see what you can do. Beware of those companies or websites that promise "untold riches" with the Forex market. As with any investment, there is always risk no matter what their claims.
Forex currency trading is a fabulous business opportunity, but without the usual headaches of running a company. Understand your risks, start small with your investments, and watch your portfolio grow with Forex currency trading!
This brief beginner's guide will explain what Forex currency trading is and how it can benefit you. Also, the guide will show you how to avoid the pitfalls of Forex currency trading.
Explanation of Forex Currency Trading
If you're familiar with the stock market, then you already know how much research it takes to keep up with the thousands of companies in the market. You could spend hours per day trying to find stocks with the most profit potential and the least amount of risk. With Forex currency trading, this element of trading is almost non-existent. Why? Because Forex currency trading focuses on one type of stock - foreign currency exchange rates.
Buying and Selling in the Forex Currency Trading Market
With Forex currency trading, you are actually buying or selling a "pair" of foreign currencies online, by phone or other methods. "Pair" means two currencies that are being compared by pip, or a common denominator between the two currency values. Bids are placed for the pair based on what buyers are willing to pay. An asking price is what sellers are willing to take at any given time.
For example, you might buy Euro dollars with your US dollars, so you are actually buying the EUR/USD pair. The pair will either increase or decrease, depending on what buyers are willing to bid, giving you a gain or loss for your investment.
The rise and fall of pips in Forex currency trading will depend on each country's foreign exchange rate. The exchange rates can be affected by interest rates, unemployment rates, inflation, national events or disasters. If you have ever traveled to a foreign land, then you understand that your own currency could either be worth more or less than the currency of that nation.
Forex Currency Trading Leverage
Many Forex currency trading firms will allow you a leverage of 100:1 for your trading. Some will offer even more. If you have a 100:1 leverage, you can invest $1,000 of your own money, but trade $100,000! You can actually double your money with an increase of only one pip. However, you can also lose your entire investment with a decrease. This could equal big profits or losses, so be sure to consider the risks before jumping in with both feet.
Major Benefits of Forex Currency Trading
There are several major benefits of Forex currency trading. The Forex market is non-stop. You can trade 24 hours a day easily online from your own home computer. Though the risk is high, the profits can be tremendous. There is also a very high leverage with Forex currency trading, giving you more trading freedom than ever. There are no brokerage or commission fees to pay, and no restrictions on short selling.
Avoid Pitfalls in Forex Currency Trading
There are a few things to watch out for as a new investor. Be sure to choose a dependable registered broker. Be sure to research the company before you commit. Avoid trading mishaps by trying out a Forex currency trading demo first. There are some great demos available on the Web to help you become familiar with the Forex market and how it works. Most Forex currency trading brokers will allow you to have a free 30 day trial of their software making "paper" transactions to see what you can do. Beware of those companies or websites that promise "untold riches" with the Forex market. As with any investment, there is always risk no matter what their claims.
Forex currency trading is a fabulous business opportunity, but without the usual headaches of running a company. Understand your risks, start small with your investments, and watch your portfolio grow with Forex currency trading!
Foreign Exchange Market
The foreign exchange (currency or forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. The trade happening in the forex markets across the globe exceeds $3.2 trillion/day (on an average) presently. Retail traders (small speculators) are a small part of this market.
According to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007, 30% of transactions were strictly interdealer (ie interbank); 43% involved a dealer (i.e. a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution; and 27% were between a dealer and a non-financial company.
Trading characteristics
There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate - but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs.
The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open.
There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. Thus, forex trading may be perceived as a competition of minds.
According to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007, 30% of transactions were strictly interdealer (ie interbank); 43% involved a dealer (i.e. a bank) and a fund manager or some other non-bank financial institution; and 27% were between a dealer and a non-financial company.
Trading characteristics
There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate - but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs.
The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open.
There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. Thus, forex trading may be perceived as a competition of minds.
How to Trade Forex
Now 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.
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.
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.
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.
Forex Tutorial: Introduction to Currency Trading
The foreign exchange market (forex or FX for short) is one of the most exciting, fast-paced markets around. Until recently, forex trading in the currency market had been the domain of large financial institutions, corporations, central banks, hedge funds and extremely wealthy individuals. The emergence of the internet has changed all of this, and now it is possible for average investors to buy and sell currencies easily with the click of a mouse through online brokerage accounts.
Daily currency fluctuations are usually very small. Most currency pairs move less than one cent per day, representing a less than 1% change in the value of the currency. This makes foreign exchange one of the least volatile financial markets around. Therefore, many currency speculators rely on the availability of enormous leverage to increase the value of potential movements. In the retail forex market, leverage can be as much as 250:1. Higher leverage can be extremely risky, but because of round-the-clock trading and deep liquidity, foreign exchange brokers have been able to make high leverage an industry standard in order to make the movements meaningful for currency traders.
Extreme liquidity and the availability of high leverage have helped to spur the market's rapid growth and made it the ideal place for many traders. Positions can be opened and closed within minutes or can be held for months. Currency prices are based on objective considerations of supply and demand and cannot be manipulated easily because the size of the market does not allow even the largest players, such as central banks, to move prices at will.
The forex market provides plenty of opportunity for investors. However, in order to be successful, a currency trader has to understand the basics behind currency movements.
The goal of this forex tutorial is to provide a foundation for investors or traders who are new to the foreign currency markets. We'll cover the basics of exchange rates, the market's history and the key concepts you need to understand in order to be able to participate in this market. We'll also venture into how to start trading foreign currencies and the different types of strategies that can be employed.
Daily currency fluctuations are usually very small. Most currency pairs move less than one cent per day, representing a less than 1% change in the value of the currency. This makes foreign exchange one of the least volatile financial markets around. Therefore, many currency speculators rely on the availability of enormous leverage to increase the value of potential movements. In the retail forex market, leverage can be as much as 250:1. Higher leverage can be extremely risky, but because of round-the-clock trading and deep liquidity, foreign exchange brokers have been able to make high leverage an industry standard in order to make the movements meaningful for currency traders.
Extreme liquidity and the availability of high leverage have helped to spur the market's rapid growth and made it the ideal place for many traders. Positions can be opened and closed within minutes or can be held for months. Currency prices are based on objective considerations of supply and demand and cannot be manipulated easily because the size of the market does not allow even the largest players, such as central banks, to move prices at will.
The forex market provides plenty of opportunity for investors. However, in order to be successful, a currency trader has to understand the basics behind currency movements.
The goal of this forex tutorial is to provide a foundation for investors or traders who are new to the foreign currency markets. We'll cover the basics of exchange rates, the market's history and the key concepts you need to understand in order to be able to participate in this market. We'll also venture into how to start trading foreign currencies and the different types of strategies that can be employed.
Finding Forex Trading Strategy
Most successful traders develop a strategy and perfect it over time. Some people focus on one particular study or calculation, while others use broad spectrum analysis to determine their trades. Most experts suggest trying a combination of both fundamental and technical analysis, with which you can make long-term projections and also determine entry and exit points. But in the end, it is the individual trader who needs to decide what works best for him or her (most often through trial and error).
Things to Remember Open a demo account and paper trade until you can make a consistent profit - Many people jump into the forex market and quickly lose a lot of money (because of leverage). It is important to take your time and learn to trade properly before committing capital. The best way to learn is by doing!
Trade without emotion - Don't keep "mental" stop-loss points if you don't have the ability to execute them on time. Always set your stop-loss and take-profit points to execute automatically, and don't change them unless absolutely necessary. Make your decisions and stick to them!
The trend is your friend – If you go against the trend, you had better have a good reason. Because the forex market tends to trend more than move sideways, you have a higher chance of success in trading with the trend.Conclusion
The forex market is the largest market in the world, and individuals are becoming increasingly interested in it. But before you begin trading it, be sure your broker meets certain criteria, and take the time to find a trading strategy that works for you. Remember, the best way to learn to trade forex is to open up a demo account and try it out.
Things to Remember Open a demo account and paper trade until you can make a consistent profit - Many people jump into the forex market and quickly lose a lot of money (because of leverage). It is important to take your time and learn to trade properly before committing capital. The best way to learn is by doing!
Trade without emotion - Don't keep "mental" stop-loss points if you don't have the ability to execute them on time. Always set your stop-loss and take-profit points to execute automatically, and don't change them unless absolutely necessary. Make your decisions and stick to them!
The trend is your friend – If you go against the trend, you had better have a good reason. Because the forex market tends to trend more than move sideways, you have a higher chance of success in trading with the trend.Conclusion
The forex market is the largest market in the world, and individuals are becoming increasingly interested in it. But before you begin trading it, be sure your broker meets certain criteria, and take the time to find a trading strategy that works for you. Remember, the best way to learn to trade forex is to open up a demo account and try it out.
Define a Basic Forex Strategy
Define a Basic Forex StrategyTechnical analysis and fundamental analysis are the two basic genres of strategy in the forex market - just like in the equity markets. But technical analysis is by far the most common strategy used by individual forex traders. Here is a brief overview of both forms of analysis and how they apply to forex:
Fundamental AnalysisIf you think it's difficult to value one company, try valuing a whole country! Fundamental analysis in the forex market is often very complex, and it's usually used only to predict long-term trends; however, some traders do trade short term strictly on news releases. There are many different fundamental indicators of currency values released at many different times. Here are a few:
Non-farm PayrollsPurchasing Managers Index (PMI)Consumer Price Index (CPI)Retail SalesDurable GoodsNow, these reports are not the only fundamental factors to watch. There are also several meetings from which come quotes and commentary that can affect markets just as much as any report. These meetings are often called to discuss interest rates, inflation, and other issues that affect currency valuations. Even changes in wording when addressing certain issues - the Federal Reserve chairman's comments on interest rates, for example - can cause market volatility. Two important meetings to watch are the Federal Open Market Committee and Humphrey Hawkins Hearings.
Simply reading the reports and examining the commentary can help forex fundamental analysts gain a better understanding of long-term market trends and allow short-term traders to profit from extraordinary happenings. If you choose to follow a fundamental strategy, be sure to keep an economic calendar handy at all times so you know when these reports are released. Your broker may also provide real-time access to such information.
Technical AnalysisLike their counterparts in the equity markets, technical analysts of the forex analyze price trends. The only key difference between technical analysis in forex and technical analysis in equities is the time frame: forex markets are open 24 hours a day. As a result, some forms of technical analysis that factor in time must be modified to work with the 24-hour forex market. These are some of the most common forms of technical analysis used in forex:
The Elliott WavesFibonacci studiesParabolic SARPivot pointsMany technical analysts combine technical studies to make more accurate predictions. (The most common is combining the Fibonacci studies with Elliott Waves.) Others create trading systems to repeatedly locate similar buying and selling conditions.
Fundamental AnalysisIf you think it's difficult to value one company, try valuing a whole country! Fundamental analysis in the forex market is often very complex, and it's usually used only to predict long-term trends; however, some traders do trade short term strictly on news releases. There are many different fundamental indicators of currency values released at many different times. Here are a few:
Non-farm PayrollsPurchasing Managers Index (PMI)Consumer Price Index (CPI)Retail SalesDurable GoodsNow, these reports are not the only fundamental factors to watch. There are also several meetings from which come quotes and commentary that can affect markets just as much as any report. These meetings are often called to discuss interest rates, inflation, and other issues that affect currency valuations. Even changes in wording when addressing certain issues - the Federal Reserve chairman's comments on interest rates, for example - can cause market volatility. Two important meetings to watch are the Federal Open Market Committee and Humphrey Hawkins Hearings.
Simply reading the reports and examining the commentary can help forex fundamental analysts gain a better understanding of long-term market trends and allow short-term traders to profit from extraordinary happenings. If you choose to follow a fundamental strategy, be sure to keep an economic calendar handy at all times so you know when these reports are released. Your broker may also provide real-time access to such information.
Technical AnalysisLike their counterparts in the equity markets, technical analysts of the forex analyze price trends. The only key difference between technical analysis in forex and technical analysis in equities is the time frame: forex markets are open 24 hours a day. As a result, some forms of technical analysis that factor in time must be modified to work with the 24-hour forex market. These are some of the most common forms of technical analysis used in forex:
The Elliott WavesFibonacci studiesParabolic SARPivot pointsMany technical analysts combine technical studies to make more accurate predictions. (The most common is combining the Fibonacci studies with Elliott Waves.) Others create trading systems to repeatedly locate similar buying and selling conditions.
Getting Started In Forex (Part I)
The forex (FX) market has many similarities to the equity markets; however, there are some key differences. This article will show you those differences and help you get started in forex trading.
Choosing a BrokerThere are many forex brokers to choose from, just as in any other market. Here are some things to look for:
Low Spreads - The spread, calculated in "pips", is the difference between the price at which a currency can be purchased and the price at which it can be sold at any given point in time. Forex brokers don't charge a commission, so this difference is how they make money. In comparing brokers, you will find that the difference in spreads in forex is as great as the difference in commissions in the stock arena.
Bottom line: Lower spreads save you money!
Quality Institution - Unlike equity brokers, forex brokers are usually tied to large banks or lending institutions because of the large amounts of capital required (leverage they need to provide). Also, forex brokers should be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). You can find this and other financial information and statistics about a forex brokerage on its website or on the website of its parent company.
Bottom line: Make sure your broker is backed by a reliable institution!
Choosing a BrokerThere are many forex brokers to choose from, just as in any other market. Here are some things to look for:
Low Spreads - The spread, calculated in "pips", is the difference between the price at which a currency can be purchased and the price at which it can be sold at any given point in time. Forex brokers don't charge a commission, so this difference is how they make money. In comparing brokers, you will find that the difference in spreads in forex is as great as the difference in commissions in the stock arena.
Bottom line: Lower spreads save you money!
Quality Institution - Unlike equity brokers, forex brokers are usually tied to large banks or lending institutions because of the large amounts of capital required (leverage they need to provide). Also, forex brokers should be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). You can find this and other financial information and statistics about a forex brokerage on its website or on the website of its parent company.
Bottom line: Make sure your broker is backed by a reliable institution!
Getting Started In Forex (Part II)
Extensive Tools and Research - Forex brokers offer many different trading platforms for their clients - just like brokers in other markets. These trading platforms often feature real-time charts, technical analysis tools, real-time news and data, and even support for trading systems. Before committing to any broker, be sure to request free trials to test different trading platforms. Brokers usually also provide technical and fundamental commentaries, economic calendars and other research. Bottom line: Find a broker who will give you what you need to succeed!
Wide Range of Leverage Options - Leverage is necessary in forex because the price deviations (the sources of profit) are merely fractions of a cent. Leverage, expressed as a ratio between total capital available to actual capital, is the amount of money a broker will lend you for trading. For example, a ratio of 100:1 means your broker would lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital. Many brokerages offer as much as 250:1. Remember, lower leverage means lower risk of a margin call, but also lower bang for your buck (and vice-versa). Bottom line: If you have limited capital, make sure your broker offers high leverage. If capital is not a problem, any broker with a wide variety of leverage options should do. A variety of options lets you vary the amount of risk you are willing to take. For example, less leverage (and therefore less risk) may be preferable for highly volatile (exotic) currency pairs.
Account Types - Many brokers offer two or more types of accounts. The smallest account is known as a mini account and requires you to trade with a minimum of, say, $250, offering a high amount of leverage (which you need in order to make money with so little initial capital). The standard account lets you trade at a variety of different leverages, but it requires a minimum initial capital of $2,000. Finally, premium accounts, which often require significant amounts of capital, let you use different amounts of leverage and often offer additional tools and services. .....................
Getting Started In Forex (Part III) Things To Avoid
Sniping or Hunting - Sniping and hunting - or prematurely buying or selling near preset points - are shady acts committed by brokers to increase profits. Obviously, no broker admits to committing these acts, but a notion that a broker has practiced sniping or hunting is commonly believed to be true. Unfortunately, the only way to determine which brokers do this and which brokers don't is to talk to fellow traders. There is no blacklist or organization that reports such activity.
Bottom line: Talk to others in person or visit online discussion forums to find out who is an honest broker.
Strict Margin Rules - When you are trading with borrowed money, your broker has a say in how much risk you take. As such, your broker can buy or sell at its discretion, which can be a bad thing for you. Let's say you have a margin account, and your position takes a dive before rebounding to all-time highs. Well, even if you have enough cash to cover, some brokers will liquidate your position on a margin call at that low. This action on their part can cost you dearly.
Bottom line: Again, talk to others in person or visit online discussion forums to find out who the honest brokers are.
Signing up for a forex account is much the same as getting an equity account. The only major difference is that, for forex accounts, you are required to sign a margin agreement. This agreement states that you are trading with borrowed money, and, as such, the brokerage has the right to interfere with your trades to protect its interests. Once you sign up, simply fund your account, and you'll be ready to trade!
Wide Range of Leverage Options - Leverage is necessary in forex because the price deviations (the sources of profit) are merely fractions of a cent. Leverage, expressed as a ratio between total capital available to actual capital, is the amount of money a broker will lend you for trading. For example, a ratio of 100:1 means your broker would lend you $100 for every $1 of actual capital. Many brokerages offer as much as 250:1. Remember, lower leverage means lower risk of a margin call, but also lower bang for your buck (and vice-versa). Bottom line: If you have limited capital, make sure your broker offers high leverage. If capital is not a problem, any broker with a wide variety of leverage options should do. A variety of options lets you vary the amount of risk you are willing to take. For example, less leverage (and therefore less risk) may be preferable for highly volatile (exotic) currency pairs.
Account Types - Many brokers offer two or more types of accounts. The smallest account is known as a mini account and requires you to trade with a minimum of, say, $250, offering a high amount of leverage (which you need in order to make money with so little initial capital). The standard account lets you trade at a variety of different leverages, but it requires a minimum initial capital of $2,000. Finally, premium accounts, which often require significant amounts of capital, let you use different amounts of leverage and often offer additional tools and services. .....................
Getting Started In Forex (Part III) Things To Avoid
Sniping or Hunting - Sniping and hunting - or prematurely buying or selling near preset points - are shady acts committed by brokers to increase profits. Obviously, no broker admits to committing these acts, but a notion that a broker has practiced sniping or hunting is commonly believed to be true. Unfortunately, the only way to determine which brokers do this and which brokers don't is to talk to fellow traders. There is no blacklist or organization that reports such activity.
Bottom line: Talk to others in person or visit online discussion forums to find out who is an honest broker.
Strict Margin Rules - When you are trading with borrowed money, your broker has a say in how much risk you take. As such, your broker can buy or sell at its discretion, which can be a bad thing for you. Let's say you have a margin account, and your position takes a dive before rebounding to all-time highs. Well, even if you have enough cash to cover, some brokers will liquidate your position on a margin call at that low. This action on their part can cost you dearly.
Bottom line: Again, talk to others in person or visit online discussion forums to find out who the honest brokers are.
Signing up for a forex account is much the same as getting an equity account. The only major difference is that, for forex accounts, you are required to sign a margin agreement. This agreement states that you are trading with borrowed money, and, as such, the brokerage has the right to interfere with your trades to protect its interests. Once you sign up, simply fund your account, and you'll be ready to trade!
Forex Trading Tips (Part 1)
Why do hundreds of thousands online traders and investors trade the forex market every day, and how do they make money doing it?
This two-part report clearly and simply details essential tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.
Trade pairs, not currencies - Like any relationship, you have to know both sides. Success or failure in forex trading depends upon being right about both currencies and how they impact one another, not just one.Knowledge is Power - When starting out trading forex online, it is essential that you understand the basics of this market if you want to make the most of your investments.The main forex influencer is global news and events. For example, say an ECB statement is released on European interest rates which typically will cause a flurry of activity. Most newcomers react violently to news like this and close their positions and subsequently miss out on some of the best trading opportunities by waiting until the market calms down. The potential in the forex market is in the volatility, not in its tranquility.Unambitious trading - Many new traders will place very tight orders in order to take very small profits. This is not a sustainable approach because although you may be profitable in the short run (if you are lucky), you risk losing in the longer term as you have to recover the difference between the bid and the ask price before you can make any profit and this is much more difficult when you make small trades than when you make larger ones.Over-cautious trading - Like the trader who tries to take small incremental profits all the time, the trader who places tight stop losses with a retail forex broker is doomed. As we stated above, you have to give your position a fair chance to demonstrate its ability to produce. If you don't place reasonable stop losses that allow your trade to do so, you will always end up undercutting yourself and losing a small piece of your deposit with every trade.
Independence - If you are new to forex, you will either decide to trade your own money or to have a broker trade it for you. So far, so good. But your risk of losing increases exponentially if you either of these two things:
Interfere with what your broker is doing on your behalf (as his strategy might require a long gestation period);Seek advice from too many sources - multiple input will only result in multiple losses. Take a position, ride with it and then analyse the outcome - by yourself, for yourself.Tiny margins - Margin trading is one of the biggest advantages in trading forex as it allows you to trade amounts far larger than the total of your deposits. However, it can also be dangerous to novice traders as it can appeal to the greed factor that destroys many forex traders. The best guideline is to increase your leverage in line with your experience and success.No strategy - The aim of making money is not a trading strategy. A strategy is your map for how you plan to make money. Your strategy details the approach you are going to take, which currencies you are going to trade and how you will manage your risk. Without a strategy, you may become one of the 90% of new traders that lose their money.Trading Off-Peak Hours - Professional FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds posses a huge advantage over small retail traders during off-peak hours (between 2200 CET and 1000 CET) as they can hedge their positions and move them around when there is far small trade volume is going through (meaning their risk is smaller). The best advice for trading during off peak hours is simple - don't.The only way is up/down - When the market is on its way up, the market is on its way up. When the market is going down, the market is going down. That's it. There are many systems which analyse past trends, but none that can accurately predict the future. But if you acknowledge to yourself that all that is happening at any time is that the market is simply moving, you'll be amazed at how hard it is to blame anyone else.Trade on the news - Most of the really big market moves occur around news time. Trading volume is high and the moves are significant; this means there is no better time to trade than when news is released. This is when the big players adjust their positions and prices change resulting in a serious currency flow.Exiting Trades - If you place a trade and it's not working out for you, get out. Don't compound your mistake by staying in and hoping for a reversal. If you're in a winning trade, don't talk yourself out of the position because you're bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get used to it.Don't trade too short-term - If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don't undertake the trade. The spread you are trading on will make the odds against you far too high.Don't be smart - The most successful traders I know keep their trading simple. They don't analyse all day or research historical trends and track web logs and their results are excellent.Tops and Bottoms - There are no real "bargains" in trading foreign exchange. Trade in the direction the price is going in and you're results will be almost guaranteed to improve.Ignoring the technicals- Understanding whether the market is over-extended long or short is a key indicator of price action. Spikes occur in the market when it is moving all one way.Emotional Trading - Without that all-important strategy, you're trades essentially are thoughts only and thoughts are emotions and a very poor foundation for trading. When most of us are upset and emotional, we don't tend to make the wisest decisions. Don't let your emotions sway you.
This two-part report clearly and simply details essential tips on how to avoid typical pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.
Trade pairs, not currencies - Like any relationship, you have to know both sides. Success or failure in forex trading depends upon being right about both currencies and how they impact one another, not just one.Knowledge is Power - When starting out trading forex online, it is essential that you understand the basics of this market if you want to make the most of your investments.The main forex influencer is global news and events. For example, say an ECB statement is released on European interest rates which typically will cause a flurry of activity. Most newcomers react violently to news like this and close their positions and subsequently miss out on some of the best trading opportunities by waiting until the market calms down. The potential in the forex market is in the volatility, not in its tranquility.Unambitious trading - Many new traders will place very tight orders in order to take very small profits. This is not a sustainable approach because although you may be profitable in the short run (if you are lucky), you risk losing in the longer term as you have to recover the difference between the bid and the ask price before you can make any profit and this is much more difficult when you make small trades than when you make larger ones.Over-cautious trading - Like the trader who tries to take small incremental profits all the time, the trader who places tight stop losses with a retail forex broker is doomed. As we stated above, you have to give your position a fair chance to demonstrate its ability to produce. If you don't place reasonable stop losses that allow your trade to do so, you will always end up undercutting yourself and losing a small piece of your deposit with every trade.
Independence - If you are new to forex, you will either decide to trade your own money or to have a broker trade it for you. So far, so good. But your risk of losing increases exponentially if you either of these two things:
Interfere with what your broker is doing on your behalf (as his strategy might require a long gestation period);Seek advice from too many sources - multiple input will only result in multiple losses. Take a position, ride with it and then analyse the outcome - by yourself, for yourself.Tiny margins - Margin trading is one of the biggest advantages in trading forex as it allows you to trade amounts far larger than the total of your deposits. However, it can also be dangerous to novice traders as it can appeal to the greed factor that destroys many forex traders. The best guideline is to increase your leverage in line with your experience and success.No strategy - The aim of making money is not a trading strategy. A strategy is your map for how you plan to make money. Your strategy details the approach you are going to take, which currencies you are going to trade and how you will manage your risk. Without a strategy, you may become one of the 90% of new traders that lose their money.Trading Off-Peak Hours - Professional FX traders, option traders, and hedge funds posses a huge advantage over small retail traders during off-peak hours (between 2200 CET and 1000 CET) as they can hedge their positions and move them around when there is far small trade volume is going through (meaning their risk is smaller). The best advice for trading during off peak hours is simple - don't.The only way is up/down - When the market is on its way up, the market is on its way up. When the market is going down, the market is going down. That's it. There are many systems which analyse past trends, but none that can accurately predict the future. But if you acknowledge to yourself that all that is happening at any time is that the market is simply moving, you'll be amazed at how hard it is to blame anyone else.Trade on the news - Most of the really big market moves occur around news time. Trading volume is high and the moves are significant; this means there is no better time to trade than when news is released. This is when the big players adjust their positions and prices change resulting in a serious currency flow.Exiting Trades - If you place a trade and it's not working out for you, get out. Don't compound your mistake by staying in and hoping for a reversal. If you're in a winning trade, don't talk yourself out of the position because you're bored or want to relieve stress; stress is a natural part of trading; get used to it.Don't trade too short-term - If you are aiming to make less than 20 points profit, don't undertake the trade. The spread you are trading on will make the odds against you far too high.Don't be smart - The most successful traders I know keep their trading simple. They don't analyse all day or research historical trends and track web logs and their results are excellent.Tops and Bottoms - There are no real "bargains" in trading foreign exchange. Trade in the direction the price is going in and you're results will be almost guaranteed to improve.Ignoring the technicals- Understanding whether the market is over-extended long or short is a key indicator of price action. Spikes occur in the market when it is moving all one way.Emotional Trading - Without that all-important strategy, you're trades essentially are thoughts only and thoughts are emotions and a very poor foundation for trading. When most of us are upset and emotional, we don't tend to make the wisest decisions. Don't let your emotions sway you.
Forex Trading Tips (Part 2)
The second and final part of this report clearly and simply details more essential tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and start making more money in your forex trading.
Take it like a man - If you decide to ride a loss, you are simply displaying stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Sticking to a bad position ruins lots of traders - permanently. Try to remember that the market often behaves illogically, so don't get commit to any one trade; it's just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; it's ongoing regular performance over months and years that makes a good trader.Focus - Fantasising about possible profits and then "spending" them before you have realised them is no good. Focus on your current position(s) and place reasonable stop losses at the time you do the trade. Then sit back and enjoy the ride - you have no real control from now on, the market will do what it wants to do.Don't trust demos - Demo trading often causes new traders to learn bad habits. These bad habits, which can be very dangerous in the long run, come about because you are playing with virtual money. Once you know how your broker's system works, start trading small amounts and only take the risk you can afford to win or lose.Stick to the strategy - When you make money on a well thought-out strategic trade, don't go and lose half of it next time on a fancy; stick to your strategy and invest profits on the next trade that matches your long-term goals.Trade today - Most successful day traders are highly focused on what's happening in the short-term, not what may happen over the next month. If you're trading with 40 to 60-point stops focus on what's happening today as the market will probably move too quickly to consider the long-term future. However, the long-term trends are not unimportant; they will not always help you though if you're trading intraday.The clues are in the details - The bottom line on your account balance doesn't tell the whole story. Consider individual trade details; analyse your losses and the telling losing streaks. Generally, traders that make money without suffering significant daily losses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance in the long term.Simulated Results - Be very careful and wary about infamous "black box" systems. These so-called trading signal systems do not often explain exactly how the trade signals they generate are produced. Typically, these systems only show their track record of extraordinary results - historical results. Successfully predicting future trade scenarios is altogether more complex. The high-speed algorithmic capabilities of these systems provide significant retrospective trading systems, not ones which will help you trade effectively in the future.Get to know one cross at a time - Each currency pair is unique, and has a unique way of moving in the marketplace. The forces which cause the pair to move up and down are individual to each cross, so study them and learn from your experience and apply your learning to one cross at a time.Risk Reward - If you put a 20 point stop and a 50 point profit your chances of winning are probably about 1-3 against you. In fact, given the spread you're trading on, it's more likely to be 1-4. Play the odds the market gives you.Trading for Wrong Reasons - Don't trade if you are bored, unsure or reacting on a whim. The reason that you are bored in the first place is probably because there is no trade to make in the first place. If you are unsure, it's probably because you can't see the trade to make, so don't make one. Zen Trading- Even when you have taken a position in the markets, you should try and think as you would if you hadn't taken one. This level of detachment is essential if you want to retain your clarity of mind and avoid succumbing to emotional impulses and therefore increasing the likelihood of incurring losses. To achieve this, you need to cultivate a calm and relaxed outlook. Trade in brief periods of no more than a few hours at a time and accept that once the trade has been made, it's out of your hands.Determination - Once you have decided to place a trade, stick to it and let it run its course. This means that if your stop loss is close to being triggered, let it trigger. If you move your stop midway through a trade's life, you are more than likely to suffer worse moves against you. Your determination must be show itself when you acknowledge that you got it wrong, so get out.Short-term Moving Average Crossovers - This is one of the most dangerous trade scenarios for non professional traders. When the short-term moving average crosses the longer-term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. This is neither a bullish nor bearish indication, so don't fall into the trap of believing it is one.Stochastic - Another dangerous scenario. When it first signals an exhausted condition that's when the big spike in the "exhausted" currency cross tends to occur. My advice is to buy on the first sign of an overbought cross and then sell on the first sign of an oversold one. This approach means that you'll be with the trend and have successfully identified a positive move that still has some way to go. So if percentage K and percentage D are both crossing 80, then buy! (This is the same on sell side, where you sell at 20). One cross is all that counts - EURUSD seems to be trading higher, so you buy GBPUSD because it appears not to have moved yet. This is dangerous. Focus on one cross at a time - if EURUSD looks good to you, then just buy EURUSD.Wrong Broker - A lot of FOREX brokers are in business only to make money from yours. Read forums, blogs and chats around the net to get an unbiased opinion before you choose your broker. Too bullish - Trading statistics show that 90% of most traders will fail at some point. Being too bullish about your trading aptitude can be fatal to your long-term success. You can always learn more about trading the markets, even if you are currently successful in your trades. Stay modest, and keep your eyes open for new ideas and bad habits you might be falling in to.Interpret forex news yourself - Learn to read the source documents of forex news and events - don't rely on the interpretations of news media or others.
Take it like a man - If you decide to ride a loss, you are simply displaying stupidity and cowardice. It takes guts to accept your loss and wait for tomorrow to try again. Sticking to a bad position ruins lots of traders - permanently. Try to remember that the market often behaves illogically, so don't get commit to any one trade; it's just a trade. One good trade will not make you a trading success; it's ongoing regular performance over months and years that makes a good trader.Focus - Fantasising about possible profits and then "spending" them before you have realised them is no good. Focus on your current position(s) and place reasonable stop losses at the time you do the trade. Then sit back and enjoy the ride - you have no real control from now on, the market will do what it wants to do.Don't trust demos - Demo trading often causes new traders to learn bad habits. These bad habits, which can be very dangerous in the long run, come about because you are playing with virtual money. Once you know how your broker's system works, start trading small amounts and only take the risk you can afford to win or lose.Stick to the strategy - When you make money on a well thought-out strategic trade, don't go and lose half of it next time on a fancy; stick to your strategy and invest profits on the next trade that matches your long-term goals.Trade today - Most successful day traders are highly focused on what's happening in the short-term, not what may happen over the next month. If you're trading with 40 to 60-point stops focus on what's happening today as the market will probably move too quickly to consider the long-term future. However, the long-term trends are not unimportant; they will not always help you though if you're trading intraday.The clues are in the details - The bottom line on your account balance doesn't tell the whole story. Consider individual trade details; analyse your losses and the telling losing streaks. Generally, traders that make money without suffering significant daily losses have the best chance of sustaining positive performance in the long term.Simulated Results - Be very careful and wary about infamous "black box" systems. These so-called trading signal systems do not often explain exactly how the trade signals they generate are produced. Typically, these systems only show their track record of extraordinary results - historical results. Successfully predicting future trade scenarios is altogether more complex. The high-speed algorithmic capabilities of these systems provide significant retrospective trading systems, not ones which will help you trade effectively in the future.Get to know one cross at a time - Each currency pair is unique, and has a unique way of moving in the marketplace. The forces which cause the pair to move up and down are individual to each cross, so study them and learn from your experience and apply your learning to one cross at a time.Risk Reward - If you put a 20 point stop and a 50 point profit your chances of winning are probably about 1-3 against you. In fact, given the spread you're trading on, it's more likely to be 1-4. Play the odds the market gives you.Trading for Wrong Reasons - Don't trade if you are bored, unsure or reacting on a whim. The reason that you are bored in the first place is probably because there is no trade to make in the first place. If you are unsure, it's probably because you can't see the trade to make, so don't make one. Zen Trading- Even when you have taken a position in the markets, you should try and think as you would if you hadn't taken one. This level of detachment is essential if you want to retain your clarity of mind and avoid succumbing to emotional impulses and therefore increasing the likelihood of incurring losses. To achieve this, you need to cultivate a calm and relaxed outlook. Trade in brief periods of no more than a few hours at a time and accept that once the trade has been made, it's out of your hands.Determination - Once you have decided to place a trade, stick to it and let it run its course. This means that if your stop loss is close to being triggered, let it trigger. If you move your stop midway through a trade's life, you are more than likely to suffer worse moves against you. Your determination must be show itself when you acknowledge that you got it wrong, so get out.Short-term Moving Average Crossovers - This is one of the most dangerous trade scenarios for non professional traders. When the short-term moving average crosses the longer-term moving average it only means that the average price in the short run is equal to the average price in the longer run. This is neither a bullish nor bearish indication, so don't fall into the trap of believing it is one.Stochastic - Another dangerous scenario. When it first signals an exhausted condition that's when the big spike in the "exhausted" currency cross tends to occur. My advice is to buy on the first sign of an overbought cross and then sell on the first sign of an oversold one. This approach means that you'll be with the trend and have successfully identified a positive move that still has some way to go. So if percentage K and percentage D are both crossing 80, then buy! (This is the same on sell side, where you sell at 20). One cross is all that counts - EURUSD seems to be trading higher, so you buy GBPUSD because it appears not to have moved yet. This is dangerous. Focus on one cross at a time - if EURUSD looks good to you, then just buy EURUSD.Wrong Broker - A lot of FOREX brokers are in business only to make money from yours. Read forums, blogs and chats around the net to get an unbiased opinion before you choose your broker. Too bullish - Trading statistics show that 90% of most traders will fail at some point. Being too bullish about your trading aptitude can be fatal to your long-term success. You can always learn more about trading the markets, even if you are currently successful in your trades. Stay modest, and keep your eyes open for new ideas and bad habits you might be falling in to.Interpret forex news yourself - Learn to read the source documents of forex news and events - don't rely on the interpretations of news media or others.
Forex Runner
Learn how to day trade the forex market and consistently nail $200, $300 or $400 trades over and over again. Forex Runner is simply one of the best day trading systems I have ever traded. And, being one of my unique PDFT strategies, you will not use any tools or indicators to trade it, the ONLY thing you will need is the price of the currency pair.Forex Runner let's you trade 100% emotion-free since it is completely mechanical. It's rules are incredibly easy to understand, it will not take you more than one hour to learn how to trade it.
One of the amazing characteristics of Forex Runner is that it let's you trade when ever you have time. Since the forex market is a 24 hour market, you have the luxury to decide exactly when it is best for you to put Forex Runner to work.
If you have been around for some time in the trading business you know how hard it is to find a consistently profitable day trading strategy. Forex Runner was built to be consistent. Small stop losses, large profit objectives and a large percentage of winning trades makes Forex Runner one of the top performing forex trading systems.Here are some of the many benefits Forex Runner traders have:A revolutionary Price Driven Forex Trading (PDFT) strategy.
You will not use any type of indicators, identify any vague patterns, or use support or resistance levels etc. You will only use the price of the currency pair to identify, enter and profit from the trade.You will learn how to exploit the daily range of the major currency pairs.How to enter "hit and run" trades; i.e. Identify fast, enter fast and profit fast!Fully disclosed system: no need to buy, rent or subscribe to any service. You control your trading, you decide when to trade, you decide how much to trade.
So easy to learn that most of my traders (many who are completely new to forex trading) put Forex Runner to work only 1 day after learning it.
No stress, no emotions: Since Forex Runner is 100% mechanical you will only follow strict rules to identify, enter and exit trades. No interpretation or judgment what so ever (if you trade already, you most likely know the value of 100% mechanical trading)!Cheat most daytradres! While 90% of traders will identify trades only after the market started moving (and trust me, most enter as the move is ending!), you will have already identified and entered trades BEFORE the market started moving.
Be your own boss, chose when to trade. Since the forex market is active 24 hours a day, no matter what part of the world you live in you can put Forex Runner to work for you!Profit objective is pre-set. This means you do not have to think and speculate where to place it. Once you enter the trade you will simply enter a "take profit" order and forget about it.
One of the amazing characteristics of Forex Runner is that it let's you trade when ever you have time. Since the forex market is a 24 hour market, you have the luxury to decide exactly when it is best for you to put Forex Runner to work.
If you have been around for some time in the trading business you know how hard it is to find a consistently profitable day trading strategy. Forex Runner was built to be consistent. Small stop losses, large profit objectives and a large percentage of winning trades makes Forex Runner one of the top performing forex trading systems.Here are some of the many benefits Forex Runner traders have:A revolutionary Price Driven Forex Trading (PDFT) strategy.
You will not use any type of indicators, identify any vague patterns, or use support or resistance levels etc. You will only use the price of the currency pair to identify, enter and profit from the trade.You will learn how to exploit the daily range of the major currency pairs.How to enter "hit and run" trades; i.e. Identify fast, enter fast and profit fast!Fully disclosed system: no need to buy, rent or subscribe to any service. You control your trading, you decide when to trade, you decide how much to trade.
So easy to learn that most of my traders (many who are completely new to forex trading) put Forex Runner to work only 1 day after learning it.
No stress, no emotions: Since Forex Runner is 100% mechanical you will only follow strict rules to identify, enter and exit trades. No interpretation or judgment what so ever (if you trade already, you most likely know the value of 100% mechanical trading)!Cheat most daytradres! While 90% of traders will identify trades only after the market started moving (and trust me, most enter as the move is ending!), you will have already identified and entered trades BEFORE the market started moving.
Be your own boss, chose when to trade. Since the forex market is active 24 hours a day, no matter what part of the world you live in you can put Forex Runner to work for you!Profit objective is pre-set. This means you do not have to think and speculate where to place it. Once you enter the trade you will simply enter a "take profit" order and forget about it.
Forex Trading Methods
One of the true strength of Forex Cash Cow (and of the other 2 systems I teach in my course) is the fact that it is 100% mechanical. Traders who have been around for some time know the incredible benefits a mechanical system has over non-mechanical trading strategies.
Let's look at some of the amazing benefits of the Forex Cash Cow strategy: No interpretation or judgment required. Since this is a 100% mechanical trading strategy you will be trading completely stress free. This is key with ANY trading strategy. Human emotions is what ultimately breaks traders. With Forex Cash Cow you are guaranteed to not have this problem.Easy to follow rules. As simple as if A = B do C!Works the same for everyone who follow the exact rules (unlike non-mechanical trading methods that work for the very few, and most of the time not even that) Impressively easy to learn. Most Forex Cash Cow traders can put this amazing strategy to work the next day after learning it.
Know today if tomorrow there will be a trade. Yes! You will know a day ahead if a trade is going to be triggered or not.
No monitoring the market. Many people want to trade the forex market but simply don't have the necessary time. Now, with Forex Cash Cow you can trade even if you have a day job! It simply takes 1 minute per week to implement it.
The forex market is known for it's large price swings that when properly traded result in amazing profits. Forex Cash Cow not only trades these price swings with great success BUT it identifies only the best of the best swings, the top percent.No more buying "black box" systems or subscribing to signal providers. All the strategies rules are 100% disclosed and explained. You will have complete control over your trading.
A unique PDFT (Price Driven Forex Trading) strategy. No indicators, no vague chart patterns, no pivots, no support and resistance, no anything you have seen or read until now.And much more....
Let's look at some of the amazing benefits of the Forex Cash Cow strategy: No interpretation or judgment required. Since this is a 100% mechanical trading strategy you will be trading completely stress free. This is key with ANY trading strategy. Human emotions is what ultimately breaks traders. With Forex Cash Cow you are guaranteed to not have this problem.Easy to follow rules. As simple as if A = B do C!Works the same for everyone who follow the exact rules (unlike non-mechanical trading methods that work for the very few, and most of the time not even that) Impressively easy to learn. Most Forex Cash Cow traders can put this amazing strategy to work the next day after learning it.
Know today if tomorrow there will be a trade. Yes! You will know a day ahead if a trade is going to be triggered or not.
No monitoring the market. Many people want to trade the forex market but simply don't have the necessary time. Now, with Forex Cash Cow you can trade even if you have a day job! It simply takes 1 minute per week to implement it.
The forex market is known for it's large price swings that when properly traded result in amazing profits. Forex Cash Cow not only trades these price swings with great success BUT it identifies only the best of the best swings, the top percent.No more buying "black box" systems or subscribing to signal providers. All the strategies rules are 100% disclosed and explained. You will have complete control over your trading.
A unique PDFT (Price Driven Forex Trading) strategy. No indicators, no vague chart patterns, no pivots, no support and resistance, no anything you have seen or read until now.And much more....
Forex Cash Cow Strategy
Forex Cash Cow strategy is truly amazing. I consider it by far my best PDFT swing trading strategy. This incredible system is 100% mechanical, this means it requires ABSOLUTELY NO discretion, interpretention, or judgment. You will simply learn to follow strict rules: if A = B then do C!Since it is a PDFT strategy you will not use ANY type of indicators, the only thing you will need to know is the price of the currency pair you are trading.It truly takes 1 minute per week to implement this strategy, making it perfect for people who do not have the necessary time to monitor the market. In fact, I constantly get emails from Forex Cash Cow traders who say they are making more money trading this system than at their current day jobs!Let's look at how easy it is to trade the Forex Cash Cow strategy:
STEP 1 : Every day after the end of the trading day the trader checks to see if condition one of the system has been met. No interpretation or judgment, it is either yes or no, black or white! This step takes exactly 10 seconds. If condition one has not been met, nothing happens. If met it means there could be an entry signal the next trading day (the trader already knows to what direction, long or short) and step 2 comes into play.
STEP 2 : The next day the trader simply enters three types of orders with his or her broker: a limit order for initiating the trade, a stop loss order to limit risk and a profit objective. All these three numbers are exact pre-set numbers that you will learn how to calculate in less then 10 seconds. Again, no interpretation or judgment, just follow exact rules.
STEP 1 : Every day after the end of the trading day the trader checks to see if condition one of the system has been met. No interpretation or judgment, it is either yes or no, black or white! This step takes exactly 10 seconds. If condition one has not been met, nothing happens. If met it means there could be an entry signal the next trading day (the trader already knows to what direction, long or short) and step 2 comes into play.
STEP 2 : The next day the trader simply enters three types of orders with his or her broker: a limit order for initiating the trade, a stop loss order to limit risk and a profit objective. All these three numbers are exact pre-set numbers that you will learn how to calculate in less then 10 seconds. Again, no interpretation or judgment, just follow exact rules.
Forex and Go (Part 1)
You already know that the forex market is a 24 hour market. But did you know that every currency pair has it's own special behavior (sort of "personality"!) throughout this 24 hour period? Well, professional traders sure know this and they exploit this characteristic of the forex market to pull in incredible profits day after day.
Now, with Forex Flip & Go (another of my PDFT day trading strategies), you can take advantage of a certain EXPLOSIVE characteristic of the EUR/USD pair (the most liquid of all currency pairs) which produces HIGH PROBABILITY/LOW RISK trades over and over again.
The EUR/USD's daily range is about 80-100 pips ($800-$1,000). As daytraders we want to catch a big portion of this daily move and we want to do it with as little risk as possible. Here is where this beautiful strategy comes to our help! The strength of the Forex Flip & Go strategy is that it catches a large part of these $1,000 swings right at the beginning of the move.Let's look at some examples so you can see exactly what I mean when I say that Forex Flip & Go catches large swings at the very beginning of the move and impressively limits risk:NOTE: Trade examples open in a new window.
Many of the best performing professional traders agree that the key to make serious money in daytrading is having small losses and large gains. That is exactly what Forex Flip & Go does, it identifies a large move at the beginning BUT if it is wrong it will get you out of the market with a minimal loss. I hope you had the chance to view the example charts I put above, they show exactly how Forex Flip & Go does an amazing job of exiting the market when it is wrong (with losses many times smaller than 10 pips!) and how it exploits large moves from beginning to end.If you are serious about being a successful forex daytrader and learning one of the best methods to consistently capture profitable trades then Forex Flip & Go is for you!
Now, with Forex Flip & Go (another of my PDFT day trading strategies), you can take advantage of a certain EXPLOSIVE characteristic of the EUR/USD pair (the most liquid of all currency pairs) which produces HIGH PROBABILITY/LOW RISK trades over and over again.
The EUR/USD's daily range is about 80-100 pips ($800-$1,000). As daytraders we want to catch a big portion of this daily move and we want to do it with as little risk as possible. Here is where this beautiful strategy comes to our help! The strength of the Forex Flip & Go strategy is that it catches a large part of these $1,000 swings right at the beginning of the move.Let's look at some examples so you can see exactly what I mean when I say that Forex Flip & Go catches large swings at the very beginning of the move and impressively limits risk:NOTE: Trade examples open in a new window.
Many of the best performing professional traders agree that the key to make serious money in daytrading is having small losses and large gains. That is exactly what Forex Flip & Go does, it identifies a large move at the beginning BUT if it is wrong it will get you out of the market with a minimal loss. I hope you had the chance to view the example charts I put above, they show exactly how Forex Flip & Go does an amazing job of exiting the market when it is wrong (with losses many times smaller than 10 pips!) and how it exploits large moves from beginning to end.If you are serious about being a successful forex daytrader and learning one of the best methods to consistently capture profitable trades then Forex Flip & Go is for you!
Forex and Go (Part 2)
Like with the other two PDFT strategies we saw earlier (Forex Cash Cow and Forex Runner) I will teach you step by step how to identify and place a high probability Forex Flip & Go trade. And again, as with all my strategies , Forex Flip & Go is 100% mechanical! You will not use any type of judgment or discretion in your trading. You will only learn to follow simple rules: if A = B do C!
All the strategies you will learn in Forex Trading Methods have incredible benefits that simply make them unique, the best of the best. Forex Flip & Go is no different: One of the only daytrading strategies that is capable of catching a large part of those 80-100 pip EUR/USD daily moves! Rules are 100% mechanical. You will not use any type of judgment or discretion, all your trades will be placed according to simple objective rules. This is a very important aspect of all my strategies and is one of the reasons why Forex Trading Machine traders are so successful. Large profit objectives and VERY small stop losses. This is key. As a daytrader you want to always limit your risk but at the same time you want to ride your winners and squeeze out the last available pip!
Forex Flip & Go allows you to do exactly that. In fact, in order to accomplish this objective I created a mechanism that I have not seen in any other forex daytrading strategy. You will be amazed how this small "trick" keeps you out of bad trades BEFORE you even know you are in a bad trade! Completely disclosed rules. Stop using those trading services or so called "black box" systems. Be in control of your trading. So simple to learn that a 15 year old can trade Forex Flip & Go! No indicators, no vague patterns, no pivots, nothing! Since this is a PDFT strategy you will only use the price of the currency to identify, enter and exit trades. No sitting in front of the computer all day long. Most days you will not trade more than 3 hours. Some days much less. Once 90% of traders realize the market started moving to a certain direction you will already be in the move and profiting from it. Profit objective is pre-set. This means you do not have to think and speculate where to place it. Once you enter the trade you will simply enter a "take profit" order and forget about it.
While most traders will struggle in choppy market days (and of course, lose money in the process!) Forex Flip & Go will keep you out. And much more...
All the strategies you will learn in Forex Trading Methods have incredible benefits that simply make them unique, the best of the best. Forex Flip & Go is no different: One of the only daytrading strategies that is capable of catching a large part of those 80-100 pip EUR/USD daily moves! Rules are 100% mechanical. You will not use any type of judgment or discretion, all your trades will be placed according to simple objective rules. This is a very important aspect of all my strategies and is one of the reasons why Forex Trading Machine traders are so successful. Large profit objectives and VERY small stop losses. This is key. As a daytrader you want to always limit your risk but at the same time you want to ride your winners and squeeze out the last available pip!
Forex Flip & Go allows you to do exactly that. In fact, in order to accomplish this objective I created a mechanism that I have not seen in any other forex daytrading strategy. You will be amazed how this small "trick" keeps you out of bad trades BEFORE you even know you are in a bad trade! Completely disclosed rules. Stop using those trading services or so called "black box" systems. Be in control of your trading. So simple to learn that a 15 year old can trade Forex Flip & Go! No indicators, no vague patterns, no pivots, nothing! Since this is a PDFT strategy you will only use the price of the currency to identify, enter and exit trades. No sitting in front of the computer all day long. Most days you will not trade more than 3 hours. Some days much less. Once 90% of traders realize the market started moving to a certain direction you will already be in the move and profiting from it. Profit objective is pre-set. This means you do not have to think and speculate where to place it. Once you enter the trade you will simply enter a "take profit" order and forget about it.
While most traders will struggle in choppy market days (and of course, lose money in the process!) Forex Flip & Go will keep you out. And much more...
Friday, August 21, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET
The foreign exchange market (currency, forex, or FX) trades currencies. It lets banks and other institutions easily buy and sell currencies. [1]
The purpose of the foreign exchange market is to help international trade and investment. A foreign exchange market helps businesses convert one currency to another. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars.
In a typical foreign exchange transaction a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market started forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.
The foreign exchange market is unique because of
its trading volumes,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends (from 22:00 UTC on Sunday until 22:00 UTC Friday),
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income (but profits can be high due to very large trading volumes)
the use of leverage
Main foreign exchange market turnover, 1988 - 2007, measured in billions of USD.
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[2] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this. This approximately $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:
$1.005 trillion in spot transactions
$362 billion in outright forwards
$1.714 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
$129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
The purpose of the foreign exchange market is to help international trade and investment. A foreign exchange market helps businesses convert one currency to another. For example, it permits a U.S. business to import European goods and pay Euros, even though the business's income is in U.S. dollars.
In a typical foreign exchange transaction a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market started forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.
The foreign exchange market is unique because of
its trading volumes,
the extreme liquidity of the market,
its geographical dispersion,
its long trading hours: 24 hours a day except on weekends (from 22:00 UTC on Sunday until 22:00 UTC Friday),
the variety of factors that affect exchange rates.
the low margins of profit compared with other markets of fixed income (but profits can be high due to very large trading volumes)
the use of leverage
Main foreign exchange market turnover, 1988 - 2007, measured in billions of USD.
As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal perfect competition, notwithstanding market manipulation by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[2] average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion. Trading in the world's main financial markets accounted for $3.21 trillion of this. This approximately $3.21 trillion in main foreign exchange market turnover was broken down as follows:
$1.005 trillion in spot transactions
$362 billion in outright forwards
$1.714 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
$129 billion estimated gaps in reporting
Market size and liquidity
Presently, the foreign exchange market is one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world. Traders include large banks, central banks, currency speculators, corporations, governments, and other financial institutions. The average daily volume in the global foreign exchange and related markets is continuously growing. Daily turnover was reported to be over US$3.2 trillion in April 2007 by the Bank for International Settlements. Since then, the market has continued to grow. According to Euromoney's annual FX Poll, volumes grew a further 41% between 2007 and 2008.
Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total, making London by far the global center for foreign exchange. In second and third places respectively, trading in New York accounted for 16.6%, and Tokyo accounted for 6.0%. In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives.
Exchange-traded FX futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts.
Several other developed countries also permit the trading of FX derivative products (like currency futures and options on currency futures) on their exchanges. All these developed countries already have fully convertible capital accounts. Most emerging countries do not permit FX derivative products on their exchanges in view of prevalent controls on the capital accounts. However, a few select emerging countries (e.g., Korea, South Africa, India) have already successfully experimented with the currency futures exchanges, despite having some controls on the capital account.
FX futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Of the $3.98 trillion daily global turnover, trading in London accounted for around $1.36 trillion, or 34.1% of the total, making London by far the global center for foreign exchange. In second and third places respectively, trading in New York accounted for 16.6%, and Tokyo accounted for 6.0%. In addition to "traditional" turnover, $2.1 trillion was traded in derivatives.
Exchange-traded FX futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts.
Several other developed countries also permit the trading of FX derivative products (like currency futures and options on currency futures) on their exchanges. All these developed countries already have fully convertible capital accounts. Most emerging countries do not permit FX derivative products on their exchanges in view of prevalent controls on the capital accounts. However, a few select emerging countries (e.g., Korea, South Africa, India) have already successfully experimented with the currency futures exchanges, despite having some controls on the capital account.
FX futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, and accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).
Foreign exchange trading increased by 38% between April 2005 and April 2006 and has more than doubled since 2001. This is largely due to the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class and an increase in fund management assets, particularly of hedge funds and pension funds. The diverse selection of execution venues have made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. In 2006, retail traders constituted over 2% of the whole FX market volumes with an average daily trade volume of over US$50-60 billion (see retail trading platforms).[6] Because foreign exchange is an OTC market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading centre is the UK, primarily London, which according to IFSL estimates has increased its share of global turnover in traditional transactions from 31.3% in April 2004 to 34.1% in April 2007. The ten most active traders account for almost 80% of trading volume, according to the 2008 Euromoney FX survey.[3] These large international banks continually provide the market with both bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices. The bid/ask spread is the difference between the price at which a bank or market maker will sell ("ask", or "offer") and the price at which a market-maker will buy ("bid") from a wholesale customer. This spread is minimal for actively traded pairs of currencies, usually 0–3 pips. For example, the bid/ask quote of EUR/USD might be 1.2200/1.2203 on a retail broker. Minimum trading size for most deals is usually 100,000 units of base currency, which is a standard "lot"
These spreads might not apply to retail customers at banks, which will routinely mark up the difference to say 1.2100/1.2300 for transfers, or say 1.2000/1.2400 for banknotes or travelers' checks. Spot prices at market makers vary, but on EUR/USD are usually no more than 3 pips wide (i.e., 0.0003). Competition is greatly increased with larger transactions, and pip spreads shrink on the major pairs to as little as 1 to 2 pips.
Market participants
Financial markets
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Bond market
Fixed income
Corporate bond Government bond
Municipal bond Bond valuation
High-yield debt
Stock market
Stock Preferred
stock Common
stock Registered share
Voting share
Stock exchange
Foreign exchange market
Derivatives market
Credit derivative
Hybrid security
Options
Futures
Forwards
Swaps Other
Markets
Commodity market
Money market
OTC market
Real estate market
Spot market
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Finance series
Financial market
Financial market participants
Corporate finance
Personal finance
Public finance
Banks and Banking
Financial regulation
v • d • e Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the foreign exchange market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. Within the inter-bank market, spreads, which are the difference between the bid and ask prices, are razor sharp and usually unavailable, and not known to players outside the inner circle. The difference between the bid and ask prices widens (from 0-1 pip to 1-2 pips for some currencies such as the EUR). This is due to volume. If a trader can guarantee large numbers of transactions for large amounts, they can demand a smaller difference between the bid and ask price, which is referred to as a better spread. The levels of access that make up the foreign exchange market are determined by the size of the "line" (the amount of money with which they are trading). The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions. After that there are usually smaller investment banks, followed by large multi-national corporations (which need to hedge risk and pay employees in different countries), large hedge funds, and even some of the retail FX-metal market makers. According to Galati and Melvin, “Pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, and other institutional investors have played an increasingly important role in financial markets in general, and in FX markets in particular, since the early 2000s.” (2004) In addition, he notes, “Hedge funds have grown markedly over the 2001–2004 period in terms of both number and overall size” Central banks also participate in the foreign exchange market to align currencies to their economic needs.
Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary desks, trading for the bank's own account. Until recently, foreign exchange brokers did large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for small fees. Today, however, much of this business has moved on to more efficient electronic systems. The broker squawk box lets traders listen in on ongoing interbank trading and is heard in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a few years ago.
Commercial companies
An important part of this market comes from the financial activities of companies seeking foreign exchange to pay for goods or services. Commercial companies often trade fairly small amounts compared to those of banks or speculators, and their trades often have little short term impact on market rates. Nevertheless, trade flows are an important factor in the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered due to exposures that are not widely known by other market participants.
Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high—that is, to trade for a profit based on their more precise information. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of central bank "stabilizing speculation" is doubtful because central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank.[7] Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992–93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in Southeast Asia.
Hedge funds as speculators
About 70% to 90%[citation needed] of the foreign exchange transactions are speculative. In other words, the person or institution that bought or sold the currency has no plan to actually take delivery of the currency in the end; rather, they were solely speculating on the movement of that particular currency. Hedge funds have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation since 1996. They control billions of dollars of equity and may borrow billions more, and thus may overwhelm intervention by central banks to support almost any currency, if the economic fundamentals are in the hedge funds' favor.
Investment management firms
Investment management firms (who typically manage large accounts on behalf of customers such as pension funds and endowments) use the foreign exchange market to facilitate transactions in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.
Some investment management firms also have more speculative specialist currency overlay operations, which manage clients' currency exposures with the aim of generating profits as well as limiting risk. Whilst the number of this type of specialist firms is quite small, many have a large value of assets under management (AUM), and hence can generate large trades.
Retail foreign exchange brokers
There are two types of retail brokers offering the opportunity for speculative trading: retail foreign exchange brokers and market makers. Retail traders (individuals) are a small fraction of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks. Retail brokers, while largely controlled and regulated by the CFTC and NFA might be subject to foreign exchange scams. At present, the NFA and CFTC are imposing stricter requirements, particularly in relation to the amount of Net Capitalization required of its members. As a result many of the smaller, and perhaps questionable brokers are now gone. It is not widely understood that retail brokers and market makers typically trade against their clients and frequently take the other side of their trades. This can often create a potential conflict of interest and give rise to some of the unpleasant experiences some traders have had. A move toward NDD (No Dealing Desk) and STP (Straight Through Processing) has helped to resolve some of these concerns and restore trader confidence, but caution is still advised in ensuring that all is as it is presented.
Non-bank Foreign Exchange Companies
Non-bank foreign exchange companies offer currency exchange and international payments to private individuals and companies. These are also known as foreign exchange brokers but are distinct in that they do not offer speculative trading but currency exchange with payments. I.e., there is usually a physical delivery of currency to a bank account.
It is estimated that in the UK, 14% of currency transfers/payments are made via Foreign Exchange Companies. These companies' selling point is usually that they will offer better exchange rates or cheaper payments than the customer's bank. These companies differ from Money Transfer/Remittance Companies in that they generally offer higher-value services.
Money Transfer/Remittance Companies
Money transfer companies/remittance companies perform high-volume low-value transfers generally by economic migrants back to their home country. In 2007, the Aite Group estimated that there were $369 billion of remittances (an increase of 8% on the previous year). The four largest markets (India, China, Mexico and the Philippines) receive $95 billion. The largest and best known provider is Western Union with 345,000 agents globally.
Trading characteristics
There is no unified or centrally cleared market for the majority of FX trades, and there is very little cross-border regulation. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currencies instruments are traded. This implies that there is not a single exchange rate but rather a number of different rates (prices), depending on what bank or market maker is trading, and where it is. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs instantaneously. Due to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. A joint venture of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Reuters, called Fxmarketspace opened in 2007 and aspired but failed to the role of a central market clearing mechanism.
The main trading center is London, but New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are all important centers as well. Banks throughout the world participate. Currency trading happens continuously throughout the day; as the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, followed by the North American session and then back to the Asian session, excluding weekends.
Fluctuations in exchange rates are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in gross domestic product (GDP) growth, inflation (purchasing power parity theory), interest rates (interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect), budget and trade deficits or surpluses, large cross-border M&A deals and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time. However, the large banks have an important advantage; they can see their customers' order flow.
Currencies are traded against one another. Each pair of currencies thus constitutes an individual product and is traditionally noted XXX/YYY, where YYY is the ISO 4217 international three-letter code of the currency into which the price of one unit of XXX is expressed (called base currency). For instance, EUR/USD is the price of the euro expressed in US dollars, as in 1 euro = 1.5465 dollar. Out of convention, the first currency in the pair, the base currency, was the stronger currency at the creation of the pair. The second currency, counter currency, was the weaker currency at the creation of the pair.
The factors affecting XXX will affect both XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ. This causes positive currency correlation between XXX/YYY and XXX/ZZZ.
On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were: EUR/USD: 27%
USD/JPY: 13%
GBP/USD (also called sterling or cable): 12%
and the US currency was involved in 86.3% of transactions, followed by the euro (37.0%), the yen (17.0%), and sterling (15.0%) (see table). Note that volume percentages should add up to 200%: 100% for all the sellers and 100% for all the buyers. Trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, and how long the foreign exchange market will remain dollar-centered is open to debate. Until recently, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ would have usually involved two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market. As the dollar's value has eroded during 2008, interest in using the euro as reference currency for prices in commodities (such as oil), as well as a larger component of foreign reserves by banks, has increased dramatically. Transactions in the currencies of commodity-producing countries, such as AUD, NZD, CAD, have also increased.
Determinants of FX Rates
The following theories explain the fluctuations in FX rates in a floating exchange rate regime (In a fixed exchange rate regime, FX rates are decided by its government):
(a) International parity conditions viz; purchasing power parity, interest rate parity, Domestic Fisher effect, International Fisher effect. Though to some extent the above theories provide logical explanation for the fluctuations in exchange rates, yet these theories falter as they are based on challengeable assumptions [e.g., free flow of goods, services and capital] which seldom hold true in the real world.
(b) Balance of payments model (see exchange rate). This model, however, focuses largely on tradable goods and services, ignoring the increasing role of global capital flows. It failed to provide any explanation for continuous appreciation of dollar during 1980s and most part of 1990s in face of soaring US current account deficit.
(c) Asset market model (see exchange rate) views currencies as an important asset class for constructing investment portfolios. Assets prices are influenced mostly by people’s willingness to hold the existing quantities of assets, which in turn depends on their expectations on the future worth of these assets. The asset market model of exchange rate determination states that “the exchange rate between two currencies represents the price that just balances the relative supplies of, and demand for, assets denominated in those currencies.”
None of the models developed so far succeed to explain FX rates levels and volatility in the longer time frames. For shorter time frames (less than a few days) algorithm can be devised to predict prices. Large and small institutions and professional individual traders have made consistent profits from it. It is understood from above models that many macroeconomic factors affect the exchange rates and in the end currency prices are a result of dual forces of demand and supply. The world's currency markets can be viewed as a huge melting pot: in a large and ever-changing mix of current events, supply and demand factors are constantly shifting, and the price of one currency in relation to another shifts accordingly. No other market encompasses (and distills) as much of what is going on in the world at any given time as foreign exchange.
Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions and market psychology.
Economic factors
These include: (a)economic policy, disseminated by government agencies and central banks, (b)economic conditions, generally revealed through economic reports, and other economic indicators.
Economic policy comprises government fiscal policy (budget/spending practices) and monetary policy (the means by which a government's central bank influences the supply and "cost" of money, which is reflected by the level of interest rates). Economic conditions include: Government budget deficits or surpluses The market usually reacts negatively to widening government budget deficits, and positively to narrowing budget deficits. The impact is reflected in the value of a country's currency. Balance of trade levels and trends The trade flow between countries illustrates the demand for goods and services, which in turn indicates demand for a country's currency to conduct trade. Surpluses and deficits in trade of goods and services reflect the competitiveness of a nation's economy. For example, trade deficits may have a negative impact on a nation's currency.
Inflation levels and trends
Typically a currency will lose value if there is a high level of inflation in the country or if inflation levels are perceived to be rising [. This is because inflation erodes purchasing power, thus demand, for that particular currency. However, a currency may sometimes strengthen when inflation rises because of expectations that the central bank will raise short-term interest rates to combat rising inflation. Economic growth and health Reports such as GDP, employment levels, retail sales, capacity utilization and others, detail the levels of a country's economic growth and health. Generally, the more healthy and robust a country's economy, the better its currency will perform, and the more demand for it there will be. Productivity of an economy Increasing productivity in an economy should positively influence the value of its currency. Its effects are more prominent if the increase is in the traded sector .
Political conditions
Internal, regional, and international political conditions and events can have a profound effect on currency markets. All exchange rates are susceptible to political instability and anticipations about the new ruling party. Political upheaval and instability can have a negative impact on a nation's economy. For example, destabilization of coalition governments in India, Pakistan and Thailand can negatively affect the value of their currencies. Similarly, in a country experiencing financial difficulties, the rise of a political faction that is perceived to be fiscally responsible can have the opposite effect. Also, events in one country in a region may spur positive or negative interest in a neighboring country and, in the process, affect its currency.
Market psychology
Market psychology and trader perceptions influence the foreign exchange market in a variety of ways: Flights to quality Unsettling international events can lead to a "flight to quality," with investors seeking a "safe haven." There will be a greater demand, thus a higher price, for currencies perceived as stronger over their relatively weaker counterparts. The Swiss franc has been a traditional safe haven during times of political or economic uncertainty.[12] Long-term trends Currency markets often move in visible long-term trends. Although currencies do not have an annual growing season like physical commodities, business cycles do make themselves felt. Cycle analysis looks at longer-term price trends that may rise from economic or political trends.
"Buy the rumor, sell the fact"
This market truism can apply to many currency situations. It is the tendency for the price of a currency to reflect the impact of a particular action before it occurs and, when the anticipated event comes to pass, react in exactly the opposite direction. This may also be referred to as a market being "oversold" or "overbought".[14] To buy the rumor or sell the fact can also be an example of the cognitive bias known as anchoring, when investors focus too much on the relevance of outside events to currency prices.
Economic numbers
While economic numbers can certainly reflect economic policy, some reports and numbers take on a talisman-like effect: the number itself becomes important to market psychology and may have an immediate impact on short-term market moves. "What to watch" can change over time. In recent years, for example, money supply, employment, trade balance figures and inflation numbers have all taken turns in the spotlight.
Technical trading considerations
As in other markets, the accumulated price movements in a currency pair such as EUR/USD can form apparent patterns that traders may attempt to use. Many traders study price charts in order to identify such patterns
Algorithmic trading in foreign exchange
Electronic trading is growing in the FX market, and algorithmic trading is becoming much more common. According to financial consultancy Celent estimates, by 2008 up to 25% of all trades by volume will be executed using algorithm, up from about 18% in 2005.[citation needed] An algorithmic trader needs to be mindful of potential fraud by the broker. Part of the weekly algorithm should include a check to see if the amount of transaction errors when the trader is losing money occurs in the same proportion as when the trader would have made money.
Fundamental trading in foreign exchange
Fundamental trading is determined on the basis on regulatory,statutory and economic changes which occur with-in various countries, FX traders are more concerned if central governments will raise rates on its particular currency. Likewise traders also to look to countries which are dependent on commodities or commodity driven such ie. Australian dollar or Canadian dollar which are heavily influenced by commodities prices
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE
In finance, the exchange rates (also known as the foreign-exchange rate, forex rate or FX rate) between two currencies specifies how much one currency is worth in terms of the other. It is the value of a foreign nation’s currency in terms of the home nation’s currency.[1] For example an exchange rate of 95 Japanese yen (JPY, ¥) to the United States dollar (USD, $) means that JPY 95 is worth the same as USD 1. The foreign exchange market is one of the largest markets in the world. By some estimates, about 3.2 trillion USD worth of currency changes hands every day.
The spot exchange rate refers to the current exchange rate. The forward exchange rate refers to an exchange rate that is quoted and traded today but for delivery and payment on a specific future date.
The spot exchange rate refers to the current exchange rate. The forward exchange rate refers to an exchange rate that is quoted and traded today but for delivery and payment on a specific future date.
Quotations
An exchange system quotation is given by stating the number of units of "quote currency" (price currency, payment currency) that can be exchanged for one unit of "base currency" (unit currency, transaction currency). For example, in a quotation that says the EUR/USD exchange rate is 1.4320 (1.4320 USD per EUR), the quote currency is USD and the base currency is EUR.
There is a market convention that determines which is the base currency and which is the term currency. In most parts of the world, the order is: EUR – GBP – AUD – NZD – USD – others. Thus if you are doing a conversion from EUR into AUD, EUR is the base currency, AUD is the term currency and the exchange rate tells you how many Australian dollars you would pay or receive for 1 euro. Cyprus and Malta which were quoted as the base to the USD and others were recently removed from this list when they joined the euro. In some areas of Europe and in the non-professional market in the UK, EUR and GBP are reversed so that GBP is quoted as the base currency to the euro. In order to determine which is the base currency where both currencies are not listed (i.e. both are "other"), market convention is to use the base currency which gives an exchange rate greater than 1.000. This avoids rounding issues and exchange rates being quoted to more than 4 decimal places. There are some exceptions to this rule e.g. the Japanese often quote their currency as the base to other currencies.
Quotes using a country's home currency as the price currency (e.g., EUR 0.63 = USD 1.00 in the euro zone) are known as direct quotation or price quotation (from that country's perspective) [1] and are used by most countries.
Quotes using a country's home currency as the unit currency (e.g., EUR 1.00 = USD 1.58 in the euro zone) are known as indirect quotation or quantity quotation and are used in British newspapers and are also common in Australia, New Zealand and the eurozone.
direct quotation: 1 foreign currency unit = x home currency units
indirect quotation: 1 home currency unit = x foreign currency units
Note that, using direct quotation, if the home currency is strengthening (i.e., appreciating, or becoming more valuable) then the exchange rate number decreases. Conversely if the foreign currency is strengthening, the exchange rate number increases and the home currency is depreciating.
Market convention from the early 1980s to 2006 was that most currency pairs were quoted to 4 decimal places for spot transactions and up to 6 decimal places for forward outrights or swaps. (The fourth decimal place is usually referred to as a "pip"). An exception to this was exchange rates with a value of less than 1.000 which were usually quoted to 5 or 6 decimal places. Although there is no fixed rule, exchange rates with a value greater than around 20 were usually quoted to 3 decimal places and currencies with a value greater than 80 were quoted to 2 decimal places. Currencies over 5000 were usually quoted with no decimal places (e.g. the former Turkish Lira). e.g. (GBPOMR : 0.765432 - EURUSD : 1.5877 - GBPBEF : 58.234 - EURJPY : 165.29). In other words, quotes are given with 5 digits. Where rates are below 1, quotes frequently include 5 decimal places.
In 2005 Barclays Capital broke with convention by offering spot exchange rates with 5 or 6 decimal places on their electronic dealing platform[2]. The contraction of spreads (the difference between the bid and offer rates) arguably necessitated finer pricing and gave the banks the ability to try and win transaction on multibank trading platforms where all banks may otherwise have been quoting the same price. A number of other banks have now followed this.
There is a market convention that determines which is the base currency and which is the term currency. In most parts of the world, the order is: EUR – GBP – AUD – NZD – USD – others. Thus if you are doing a conversion from EUR into AUD, EUR is the base currency, AUD is the term currency and the exchange rate tells you how many Australian dollars you would pay or receive for 1 euro. Cyprus and Malta which were quoted as the base to the USD and others were recently removed from this list when they joined the euro. In some areas of Europe and in the non-professional market in the UK, EUR and GBP are reversed so that GBP is quoted as the base currency to the euro. In order to determine which is the base currency where both currencies are not listed (i.e. both are "other"), market convention is to use the base currency which gives an exchange rate greater than 1.000. This avoids rounding issues and exchange rates being quoted to more than 4 decimal places. There are some exceptions to this rule e.g. the Japanese often quote their currency as the base to other currencies.
Quotes using a country's home currency as the price currency (e.g., EUR 0.63 = USD 1.00 in the euro zone) are known as direct quotation or price quotation (from that country's perspective) [1] and are used by most countries.
Quotes using a country's home currency as the unit currency (e.g., EUR 1.00 = USD 1.58 in the euro zone) are known as indirect quotation or quantity quotation and are used in British newspapers and are also common in Australia, New Zealand and the eurozone.
direct quotation: 1 foreign currency unit = x home currency units
indirect quotation: 1 home currency unit = x foreign currency units
Note that, using direct quotation, if the home currency is strengthening (i.e., appreciating, or becoming more valuable) then the exchange rate number decreases. Conversely if the foreign currency is strengthening, the exchange rate number increases and the home currency is depreciating.
Market convention from the early 1980s to 2006 was that most currency pairs were quoted to 4 decimal places for spot transactions and up to 6 decimal places for forward outrights or swaps. (The fourth decimal place is usually referred to as a "pip"). An exception to this was exchange rates with a value of less than 1.000 which were usually quoted to 5 or 6 decimal places. Although there is no fixed rule, exchange rates with a value greater than around 20 were usually quoted to 3 decimal places and currencies with a value greater than 80 were quoted to 2 decimal places. Currencies over 5000 were usually quoted with no decimal places (e.g. the former Turkish Lira). e.g. (GBPOMR : 0.765432 - EURUSD : 1.5877 - GBPBEF : 58.234 - EURJPY : 165.29). In other words, quotes are given with 5 digits. Where rates are below 1, quotes frequently include 5 decimal places.
In 2005 Barclays Capital broke with convention by offering spot exchange rates with 5 or 6 decimal places on their electronic dealing platform[2]. The contraction of spreads (the difference between the bid and offer rates) arguably necessitated finer pricing and gave the banks the ability to try and win transaction on multibank trading platforms where all banks may otherwise have been quoting the same price. A number of other banks have now followed this.
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