Brief Summary of Forex Trading

The foreign exchange market is widely known as "Forex". Here brokerage firms and banks are linked over an electronic network. This network enables them to convert the currencies of countries all over the world. It is the largest and the chief liquid financial market in the world. Dollar volume of dealing of currencies daily goes beyond $1.9 trillion dollars in the currency market. Sometimes it goes beyond even the total volume of all U.S. equities and future markets.

The Forex is often considered as being dominated by the government central banks, and commercial and investment banks. That is why private investors prefer to deal on the currency exchanges. It is easy for them to access via various technological innovations like the Internet.

Widely traded currencies include US Dollar, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. Trade in Forex is done for five days a week, round the clock with constant access to dealers throughout the world. It is not centered on any physical location or any exchange, as it is with the stock or future markets. Transactions take place between two corresponding persons over a phone line or through an electronic network.

Background

In the very beginning, there was a barter system i.e. exchange of goods with one another as per individual requirement. But its obvious limitations led to the establishment of mostly accepted channels of exchange.

Consequently, metal coins came to the scenario. However, paper form of governmental IOUs required approval in political administrations during the Middle Ages.

Spot and Forward Trading: This means that if no further step is taken, then, dealing will be settled after two business days.

Prior to the First World War, most of the central banks moved ahead to support their currencies with convertibility to gold. But at times, this resulted in political instability due to devastating inflation. This was due to the expanding supply of paper money with no gold coverage. Therefore, Forex controls were initiated to protect local national interest.

Later on, during the Second World War, the USA introduced the Bretton Woods agreement in July 1944. As a result, this agreement led to a system of fixed exchange rates that re-established the gold standard to an extent and also stabilized the dollar at USD 35/oz. It also fixed the other prominent currencies to the dollar and thus made it permanent.

The last few decades have witnessed the developing of Forex trading into the largest global market. By now, all the restrictions from the capital flows have been put off in several countries. It has resulted in the independency of the markets to settle Forex rates as per their perceived values.

There are a number of reasons due to which Forex trading has gained popularity. The most prominent include available leverage, utmost liquidity round the clock a day and extremely low dealing cost, which relate to trading. Certain basics of Forex trading are as follows:

Margin Trading: Here trading is done generally on a margin basis. A larger position in the market can be acquired by a relatively small deposit.

Base and Variable Currency: Trading is done with the combination of two currencies. But two sides of trade are always there i.e. long (bought) and short (sold). Not always, but generally, the trade currency is with the highest value.

Spot and Forward Trading: This means that if no further step is taken, then, dealing will be settled after two business days.

Interest Rates Differentials: Different interest rates are paid by different currencies.

There are also other basics of Forex trading, but one thing is definite - the size of Forex has now made any other investment market smaller to a great extent.

Article by Stefan Rockhaus. To read more about forex trading go to forex trading guide - You may reprint this article as long as no changes are made, and this resource box is left intact. Find more resources at Your Online Guide

How To Avoid Forex Broker Traps - A Question and Answer Session

Forex brokers seem to be a dime-a-dozen these days. Furthermore, it seems like everyone is calling foul about his or her broker. Indeed a lot of brokers are less than honest. Here's what you should look out for.

Q. Where can I find an honest broker offering a 1 or 2 pip spread?

A. That depends. For a mini-account or a micro-account, you can't. The smallest spread I've ever seen (that was legitimate) was 1.5 pips offered by Interactive Brokers. However, they required that you have an account size of $25,000.00.

The only other broker that I know of that comes close is Oanda. They offer spreads that get very low during times of high liquidity for very small accounts. However, during other times of the day, the spread on the EUR/USD can get as high as 6 pips.

If a broker is willing to give you a fixed 2 pip spread and let you trade an account that is only $200 in size, that is a problem. I can almost guarantee you there is some shading of the price going on. In other words, you aren't getting the real price. You've getting a price that will be more favorable to the broker. That means you'll have more losing trades. The old phrase, buyer beware, has much meaning in the forex broker world.

Q. Why shouldn't I use 400:1 leverage?

A. The higher the leverage you use, the harder it's going to be for you to make money. The more leverage you use the more value each pip has. Since the pips are worth more, you have to risk fewer pips per trade to avoid risking your account's wellbeing.

Here's the problem. When you risk fewer pips, you'll get stop too close to the market's current price. Then any market "hiccup" will take you out with a loss. If you had lower leverage, you would have had more room for the trade, and it may have very likely become a winner.

Many new forex traders are trying to trade with these really tight stops (10 to 15 pips). That's way too close. Decrease your leverage and give your trades some room to breathe. You'll probably find that you have more winning trades.

Q. When I'm shopping for a new broker, what should I look for one their website?

A. Actually, you shouldn't be looking for something. You should be looking for the absence of something. What exactly? Hype.

Anywhere on the website (especially on the homepage), do they talk about how easy it is trade forex? Do they make it sound like making money is easy? These are problems. Immediate cross that broker off your short list.

You should also look for something else. Do they make a big deal of the fact that you can open an account for next to nothing and trade at very high leverage? Those kinds of brokers are like sharks. They try to take your money. Avoid them.

In summary, avoid brokers that heavily advertise high leverage, trade with lower leverage, and lastly, avoid any kind spread that seems too good to be true. It is.

Nathan Pennington is author of the (sold-out) forex trading book "The Rubber Band Method": How to Trade Against the Trend for Consistant Profits. His current website is http://www.moneymakingforex.com/ which shows forex traders how to become winning traders.

 

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