EUR/USD:
Euro GBP/USD:
PoundUSD/CAD:
Canadian dollar USD/JPY: YenUSD/CHF:
Swiss francAUD/USD:
Aussie These currency pairs generate up to 85% of the overall volume that is generated in todays Forex market. If a trader goes long or buys the Euro, the Currency trader is simultaneously buying the EUR and selling the USD.
If the same trader goes short or sells the Aussie, they are simultaneously selling the AUD and buying the USD. The first currency of each currency pair is referred as the base currency, while second currency is referred as the counter or quote currency.
Each currency pair is expressed in units of the counter currency needed to get one unit of the base currency. If the price or quote of the EUR/USD is 1.2545, it means that 1.2545 US dollars are needed to get one EUR.
in The Bid/Ask Spread, All currency pairs are commonly quoted with a bid and ask price. The bid (always lower than the ask) is the price your broker is willing to buy at, thus the trader should sell at this price. The ask is the price your broker is willing to sell at, thus the trader should buy at this price.
EUR/USD 1.2545/48 or 1.2545/8The bid price is 1.2545
The ask price is 1.2548
A Pip in Currency Trading
A pip is the minimum incremental move a currency pair can make. Pip stands for price interest point. A move in the EUR/USD from 1.2545 to 1.2560 equals 15 pips. And a move in the USD/JPY from 112.05 to 113.10 equals 105 pips.
Margin Trading (leverage)
In contrast with other financial markets where you require the full deposit of the amount traded, in the Forex market you require only a margin deposit.
The rest will be granted by your broker. The leverage provided by some brokers goes up to 400:1. This means that you require only 1/400 or .25% in balance to open a position (plus the floating gains/losses.) Most brokers offer 100:1, where every trader requires 1% in balance to open a position.
The standard lot size in the Forex market is $100,000 USD. For instance, a trader wants to get long one lot in EUR/USD and he or she is using 100:1 leverage.
To open such position, he or she requires 1% in balance or $1,000 USD. Of course it is not advisable to open a position with such limited funds in our trading balance. If the trade goes against our trader, the position is to be closed by the broker. This takes us to our next important term.
Margin Call A margin call occurs when the balance of the trading account falls below the maintenance margin (capital required to open one position, 1% when the leverage used is 100:1, 2% when leverage used is 50:1, and so on.) At this moment, the broker sells off (or buys back in the case of short positions) all your trades, leaving the trader "theoretically" with the maintenance margin. Most of the time margin calls occur when money management is not properly applied.
How are the mechanics of a Forex trade? The trader, after an extensive analysis, decides there is a higher probability of the British pound to go up. He or she decides to go long risking 30 pips and having a target (reward) of 60 pips. If the market goes against our trader he/she will lose 30 pips, on the other hand, if the market goes in the intended way, he or she will gain 60 pips.
The actual quote for the pound is 1.8524/27, 4 pips spread. Our trader gets long at 1.8530 (ask). By the time the market gets to either our target (called take profit order) or our risk point (called stop loss level) we will have to sell it at the bid price (the price our broker is willing to buy our position back.) In order to make 60 pips, our take profit level should be placed at 1.8590 (bid price.) If our target gets hit, the market ran 64 pips (60 pips plus the 4 pip spread.)
If our stop loss level is hit, the market ran 26 (26 pips plus the 4 pip spread equals 30 pips) pips against us. It's very important to understand every aspect of trading. Start first from the very basic concepts, then move on to more complex issues such as Forex trading systems, trading psychology, trade and risk management, and so on. And make sure you master every single aspect before adventuring in a live trading account.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Forex - Currency Trading
For those unfamiliar with the term, FOREX (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970’s, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. In such an environment only participants in the market determine the price of one currency against another, based upon supply and demand for that currency.
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.
Another somewhat unique characteristic of the FOREX money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies
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.
Another somewhat unique characteristic of the FOREX money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies
Currency Trading Broker
A broker is usually backed with decades of experience and can give you some really good tips but I think one of the undiscovered gold mines about the Forex markets is the alternative currency pairs and the exotics that only brokers know about. This is because on the market, the big three currency pairs take the limelight with some of the more unknown ones shuffling around the dark corners of the market.
This does not mean that you cannot make any money from these other more exotic combinations, just ask the broker about alternative pairings and how you can get your head around these markets and their psychology. As a beginner, you have to understand that there is not one inch of the market that cannot give you good returns; it is all down to hard work and research into market psychology.
A word on market psychology: the FX market is one of the most sensitive and volatile markets in the financial arena today because it can be affected by the possibility of an event, much more sometimes, then the actual event happening. From political agendas to new global financial laws passed by co-operating governments, anything and everything can push market movement into a grey area of uncertainty and cause most of the investors to fly to a safe zone within the market and abandon their assets for the day.
This does not mean that you cannot make any money from these other more exotic combinations, just ask the broker about alternative pairings and how you can get your head around these markets and their psychology. As a beginner, you have to understand that there is not one inch of the market that cannot give you good returns; it is all down to hard work and research into market psychology.
A word on market psychology: the FX market is one of the most sensitive and volatile markets in the financial arena today because it can be affected by the possibility of an event, much more sometimes, then the actual event happening. From political agendas to new global financial laws passed by co-operating governments, anything and everything can push market movement into a grey area of uncertainty and cause most of the investors to fly to a safe zone within the market and abandon their assets for the day.
Currency Trading
Each currency is assigned a three-letter code. For example, US dollar is coded - USD (United States Dollar), euro is coded EUR (EURo), Swiss frank is coded CHF (Confederation Helvetica Franc), Japanese yen is coded JPY (JaPanese Yen), British pound is coded GBP (Great British Pound). Currency rates are equal to ratios of currency units of different countries relative to each other. The rates are represented by 6-letter words composed of two three-letter currency codes. The first position is occupied, as a rule, by the code of a more expensive currency. The rates are expressed in units of the second currency per unit of the first one. For example, rates USDCHF (USD-CHF) show the number of Swiss franks in one US dollar, but rates GBPUSD (GBP-USD) show the number of US dollars having to be paid for one British pound.
Currency Trading 101
Currency trading is about speculating on the value of one currency versus another. Currency trading is pure and simple, just like buying an individual stock, or any other financial security, in the hope that it will make a profitable return. On the other hand, the securities you’re speculating with are the currencies of various countries. Viewed separately, that means that currency trading is both about the dynamics of market speculation, or trading, and the factors that affect the value of currencies. Put them together and you’ve got the largest, most dynamic and exciting financial market in the world.
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