Forex is the world's largest and most liquid trading market. Many consider Forex as the best home business you can ever venture in. Even though regular people have had the opportunity to take part in trading foreign currencies for profit (in the same way banks and large corporations do) since 1998, it is just now becoming the cool, hip, new "thing" to talk about at parties, business events, and other social gatherings.
Even though it has been somewhat of a loosely guarded secret, every day more and more investors are turning to the all-electronic world of Forex trading for income and profit because of its numerous benefits & advantages over traditional trading vehicles, like stocks, bonds and commodities.
But, still, whenever something seems new or is just becoming a part of social conversation, news articles, and water cooler gossip, misconceptions have to be overcome, the mind has to be open and the slate has to be clear for starting out fresh with the CORRECT information.
So, in this article, it is my attempt to give you some solid, but not over-detailed, information on just what the heck "FX" (Forex) means, what it is, and why it exists.
As a successful trader said, Trading Forex is like picking money up off the floor. Not trading Forex is like leaving it there for someone else to pick up." Others in the industry have also said, Trading Forex is like having an ATM machine on your own computer.
Here's an explanation (one I feel you'll appreciate) of what Forex is and how a bunch of traders, profit from it:
The Foreign Exchange Market, also referred to the "Forex" or "FX" market, is the spot (cash) market for currency.
But, don't mistake FX as trading the futures market, where you buy a contract to purchase a particular currency at a future price in time.
What FX traders do is much less risky than trading currencies on the futures market, much more profitable, and a lot easier, than trading stocks.
So, you're probably wondering where it's at ... or ... how to access the FX market?
The answer is: FX Trading is not bound to any one trading floor and is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets. The FX market is considered an Over-the-Counter (OTC) or 'Interbank' market, due to the fact that the entire market is run electronically, within a network of banks, continuously over a 24-hour period.
Yes, if that's the first time you've heard about an all-electronic market, I know this may sound somewhat intriguing to you.
Here's what you are actually trading when you participate in the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market:
Essentially, like the large banks who use the FX market to protect themselves from the fluctuating exchange rate of different currencies, as an investor, what a FX trader is doing is simultaneously exchanging one countries currency for another. So, in actuality, they're electronically trading a currency-pair and the price that is quoted to us is the exchange rate between the two currencies.
In other words, simply the quoted price is how many of the one currency is worth 1 of the other currency.
Example:
EUR/USD last trade 1.2850 - One Euro is worth $1.2850 US dollars.The first currency (in this example, the EURO) is referred to as the base currency and the second (/USD) as the counter or quote currency.
The Forex has a DAILY trading volume of around $1.5 trillion dollars - 30 times larger than the combined volume of all U.S. equity markets. This means that 1,498,574 skilled traders could each take 1 million dollars out of the Forex market every day and the Forex would still have more money left than the New York Stock exchange every day!
The Forex plays a vital role in the world economy and there will always be a tremendous need for the Forex. International trade increases as technology and communication increases. As long as there is international trade, there will be a Forex market. The FX market has to exist so a country like Japan can sell products in the United States and be able to receive Japanese Yen in exchange for US Dollar.
There's plenty of money to be made using Forex for plenty of traders that use the right trading techniques / tactics that will allow them to profit immensely. And, with only 5% of the daily turnover of volume coming from banks, government and large corporations who need to hedge, the other 95% is for speculation and profit.
Forex made easy is as simple as you would want it to be. The foreign exchange market is a worldwide market and according to some estimates is almost as big as thirty times the turnover of the US Equity markets. That is some figure to chew on. Forex is the commonly used term for foreign exchange. As a person who wants to invest in the forex market, one should understand the basics of how this currency market operates. Forex can be made easier for beginners to understand it and here's how.
Foreign exchange is the buying and the selling of foreign exchange in pairs of currencies. For example you buy US dollars and sell UK Sterling pounds or you sell German Marks and buy Japanese Yen. Why are currencies bought or sold? The answer is simple; Governments and Companies need foreign exchange for their purchase and payments for various commodities and services. This trade constitutes about 5% of all currency transactions, however the other 95% currency transactions are done for speculation and trade. In fact many companies will buy foreign currency when it is being traded at a lower rate to protect their financial investments. Another thing about foreign exchange market is that the rates are varying continuously and on daily basis. Therefore investors and financial managers track the forex rates and the forex market it on a daily basis.
Those who are involved in the forex trade know that almost 85% of the trading is done in only US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. This is because they are the most liquid of foreign currencies (can be easily bought and sold. In fact the US Dollar is most recognizable foreign currency even in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam etc).
Being a truly 24/7 market, the currency trading markets opens in the financial centers of Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York in that sequence. Investors and speculators alike respond to the ever-changing situations and can buy and sell simultaneously the currencies. In fact many operate in two or more currency market using arbitrage to gain profits (buying in one market and selling in another market or vice versa to take advantage of the prices and book profits).
While dealing in forex, one should have a margin account. Quite simply put if you have US$ 1,000 and have a forex margin account which leverages 100:1 then you can buy US$ 100,000 since you only need 1% of the US$100,000 or US$1,000. Therefore it means that with margin account you have US$ 100,000 worth of real purchasing power in your hand.
Since the foreign currency market is fluctuating on a continuous basis, one should be able to understand the factors that affect this currency market. This is done through Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis. These two tools of trade are used in a variety of other markets such as equity markets, stock markets, mutual funds markets etc. Technical Analysis refers to reading, summarizing and analyzing data based on the data that is generated by the market. While fundamental Analysis refers to the factors, which influence the market economy, and in turn how it would affect the currency trading. Of course there are other economic and non economic factors which can suddenly affect the trading of the forex markets such as the 9/11 tragedy etc. One needs to have a shrewd acumen and a few number crunching abilities to strike gold in the forex market.
Do you know what Forex trading is? Some people have heard of this type of trading, others have not. If you haven't, it might be something you are interested in trying. Forex trading stands for foreign exchange trading. What it consists of is the buying and selling of different currencies. This is done simultaneously, and there are people who make a lot of money with this kind of trading. This is apparent by the 1.9 million dollar turnover in this market that happens every day. Also a lot of it is done online. Online Forex trading is very popular.
The most common currencies to trade are the Euro and the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar and the Japanese Yen. However, nearly all of the Forex trading done involves the major currencies of the world. These include the Euro, Japanese Yen, U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, British Pound, Australian dollar, and the Swiss franc. The Forex exchange is different from other exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, in that it does not have a physical location or central exchange. The exchange day begins in Sydney, then moves to Tokyo, on to London, and finally ends in New York. Each country takes the responsibility of regulating the Forex exchange activities in their own country. So there is no overall regulatory agency. However, this does not seem to be a problem and most countries do very well at overseeing Forex exchange activities.
There are a lot of things that influence the Forex rate. For instance, economic things, like interest rates and inflation, and also political things, such as political unrest in other countries and major changes in government cause up and down changes in the Forex rate. However, these things tend to be short-term, and don't affect it for long.
Online Forex trading sites are easy to find by surfing the Internet. Most of them provide a wealth of information for the first time trader. You can find out about the history of Forex trading, how to co it, tips on being successful, etc. You can also start trading with as little as $250 in your account on some sites. For anyone who is interested in currency or trading, it is something you should check out.
As with any type of trading, there are no guarantees that you will make money or that you won't make money. It is a smart choice to learn as much as you can about online Forex trading before investing any money and doing any trading. It is a fact that informed investors do better than those who don't know much about what they are trading. So get the fact before you dive in. You might just make a little money in a very interesting currency exchange.
Trading the Forex market has become very popular in the last years. Why is it that traders around the world see the Forex market as an investment opportunity? We will try to answer this question in this article. Also we will discuss come differences between the Forex market, the stocks market and the futures market.
Some of the benefits of trading the Forex market are:
Superior liquidity.
Liquidity is what really makes the Forex market different from other markets. The Forex market is by far the most liquid financial market in the world with nearly 2 trillion dollars traded everyday. This ensures price stability and better trade execution. Allowing traders to open and close transactions with ease. Also such a tremendous volume makes it hard to manipulate the market in an extended manner.
24hr Market.
This one is also one of the greatest advantages of trading Forex. It is an around the click market, the market opens on Sunday at 3:00 pm EST when New Zealand begins operations, and closes on Friday at 5:00 pm EST when San Francisco terminates operations. There are transactions in practically every time zone, allowing active traders to choose at what time to trade.
Leverage trading.
Trading the Forex Market offers a greater buying power than many other markets. Some Forex brokers offer leverage up to 400:1, allowing traders to have only 0.25% in margin of the total investment. For instance, a trader using 100:1 means that to have a US$100,000 position, only US$1,000 are needed on margin to be able to open that position.
Low Transaction costs.
Almost all brokers offer commission free trading. The only cost traders incur in any transaction is the spread (difference between the buy and sell price of each currency pair). This spread could be as low as 1 pip (the minimum increment in any currency pair) in some pairs.
Low minimum investment.
The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than any other markets. The initial investment could go as low as $300 USD, depending on leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level.
Specialized trading.
The liquidity of the market allows us to focus on just a few instruments (or currency pairs) as our main investments (85% of all trading transactions are made on the seven major currencies). Allowing us to monitor, and at the end get to know each instrument better.
Trading from anywhere.
If you do a lot of traveling, you can trade from anywhere in the world just having an internet connection.
Some of the most important differences between the Forex market and other markets are explained below.
Forex market vs. Equity markets
Liquidity
FX market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Equity market: Around 200 billion on a daily basis.
Trading hours
FX market: 24hr market, 5.5 days a week.
Equity market: Monday through Friday from 8:30 EST to 5:00 EST.
Profit potential
FX market: In both, rising and falling markets.
Equity market: Most traders/investor profit only from rising markets.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Equity market: High Commissions and transaction fees.
Buying power
FX market: Leverage up to 400:1.
Equity market: Leverage from 2:1 to 4:1.
Specialization
FX market: most volume (85%) is made on major currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD.)
Equity market: More than 40,000 stocks to choose from.
Forex market vs. Futures market
Liquidity
FX Market: Near two trillion dollars of daily volume.
Futures market: Around 400 billion dollars on a daily basis.
Transaction costs
FX market: Commission free and tight spreads.
Futures market: High commissions fees.
Margin
FX market: Fixed rate of margin on every position.
Futures market: Different levels of margin on overnight positions than day time positions.
Trade execution
FX market: Instantaneous execution.
Futures market: Inconsistent execution.
All this makes the Forex market very attractive to investors and traders. But I need to make something clear, although the benefits of trading the Forex market are notorious; it is still difficult to make a successful career trading the Forex market. It requires a lot of education, discipline, commitment and patience, as any other market.
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