What is the Foreign Exchange Market
Introduction
Foreign exchange, Forex or FX as it is know is the Planet’s oldest and largest financial market. It is the place where one country’s currency is exchanged for that of another. On average $2 Trillion exchanges hands every day in the form of currency transactions. This volume makes equity markets look minuscule by comparison. For example, the daily market for equities is $50 billion and the average daily value of futures contracts traded is roughly $30 billion. Trading Hours
Foreign exchange is a 24-hours-a-day, interbank (or OTC) market. Since currencies are traded 24-hours-a-day there is no central exchange like you will find with the World’s major stock markets. Proceedings begin in the financial centres of the Far East after the weekend and close in the US on a Friday evening. There are three main financial centres, each of which has specific opening and closing times. Tokyo: Open 19:00, close 04:00
London: Open 03:00, close 12:00
New York: Open 08:00, close 17:00
All times EST. Table: http://www.passion-trading.com/Tutorials.whatistheforeignexchangemarket.htm Who Participates?
The arrival and the growth of the Internet has allowed individual speculators to enter a market that was once dominated by large investment banks, multinational corporations, currency dealers and international money. There are currently countless on-line brokerage firms who offer access to the currency market. The advantages of this competitive market place are low spreads and very often, no commission on your trades. Why Participate?
The main reasons for participation in the foreign exchange market are: Actual currency exchange: From the small scale money exchanges made when you want to go on holiday to a foreign country to large multinationals changing profits made abroad into their domestic currency.
Hedging: Large multinationals often hedge against unwanted currency fluctuations that can harm profit figures.
Speculation for profit: It is estimated that 95% of foreign exchange participation falls under this category. Large multinationals, investment banks and individuals are all active at this level. How does it work?
Currencies are traded in crosses and pairs such as EURUSD, GBPUSD and USDJPY. This means that every time you trade a currency pair you are simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. For example, if you were to buy the EURUSD at 1.2700 then you are buying the Euro and selling the Dollar, or buying the Euro against the Dollar. The most commonly traded currencies are those of the World’s largest economies. It is estimated that 85% of currency trading takes place involving the U.S. Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the British Pound Sterling, the Swiss Franc, the Canadian Dollar, the Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar. These currencies are popular because of the stable political environments in their respective countries as well as respected central banks and sound monetary policy. USD: US Dollar
EUR: Euro
JPY: Japanese Yen
GBP: Great British Pound
CHF: Swiss Franc
CAD: Canadian Dollar
AUD: Australian Dollar
NZD: New Zealand Dollar
Currency rates are displayed as follows: EUR/USD 1.2723/ 1.2725
EURUSD 1.2723/ 1.2725
A quote is read as follows: For our EURUSD example earlier of 1.2700, 1 Euro (the first currency in the quote) is worth 1.2700 U.S. Dollars. The first currency is known as the base currency. It is always the case that the base currency is assumed to have the value of 1 unit. So if the EURUSD is currently quoted at 1.2700, 1 Euro is worth 1.8870 Dollars. This means it will take 1.8870 Dollars to buy 1 unit of the Euro. Therefore if the quoted value is higher than 1, it means that one unit of the base currency has a higher value than one unit of the second currency in the quote (quote currency, counter currency or terms currency). This is not always the case; for example, the AUDUSD quote currently reads 0.7490. This means that 1 Australian Dollar currently has a market value of slightly less than 0.75 US Dollars (or 75 cents). You will also notice that a quote is listed as 1.2700/ 1.2702. The difference between the first price (bid) and the second price (offer) is known as the spread. Foreign exchange currency is traded in something known as lots. There are three type of lots, standard or maxi (100 000 units of currency), mini (10 000 units of currency) or micro (1 000 units of currency). You are free to trade in as many multiples of these lot sizes as your account balance will allow. However, not all brokerage firms offer all of the different lot sizes and you should check before opening your account. In each case you are trading in units of base currency. Advantages of currency speculation
The fact that the Forex market is so large is significant for the following reasons: All of this money changing hands creates massive liquidity (the degree to which a currency can be bought or sold without affecting its price). Therefore as your account grows you have no worries about ever moving the market or having an order only partially filled (however the reliability of your broker may have something to say about this). In effect you can remain completely anonymous within the market place.
The fact that the foreign exchange market is so large is partly due to the fact that big banks (both commercial and federal) are active participants. By following their money you can, in theory, eliminate a lot of risk from your trading.
As we have already established, there are smaller costs associated with Forex trading when compared to trading stocks or futures. Forex brokers also offer a higher rate of leverage. Typically this figure stands at 1:100, which means that you can command a $100 000 position with a balance of $1 000. David Thorpe is a senior contributor for www.passion-trading.com a free educational resource centre for traders and investors. The goal of the site is to stimulate the minds of its users, enabling them to achieve a greater understanding the art of trading, thus helping them to become more profitable. |
Other Online Trading Articles
Pathways During our travel down life’s path we come to many places where the trail divides and we must make a decision. Some involve psychological (emotional) choices – marriage, divorce, leaving home, career changes, etc. Others are monetary – buying a new car, home, starting your own business, investing, etc. Many are interwoven having aspects of both ...Energies Update – We Made BIG Gains Using This Indicator - You Could Too We piled up huge gains this week in unleaded gas and crude and want to share with you our favourite timing indicator.If you have read our recent reports you will know we are great admirers of the stochastic indicator.It’s the best indicator for timing trades. Use it correctly and not only will it make you money, it can also help yo ...A Common Misconception about Stock Prices I cringe every time I hear a novice investor tell me that they only purchase low priced stocks because they offer higher potential gains. A common phase I hear is “I like to buy $1 and $2 stocks because they can double easily and I will make a 100% profit”.My reaction is to always let these people know that “stocks are priced low for a r ...Forex Options Market Overview The forex options market started as an over-the-counter (OTC) financial vehicle for large banks, financial institutions and large international corporations to hedge against foreign currency exposure. Like the forex spot market, the forex options market is considered an "interbank" market. However, with the plethora of real-time financial data ...What are Your Options Regarding Forex Options Brokers? Forex option brokers can generally be divided into two separate categories: forex brokers who offer online forex option trading platforms and forex brokers who only broker forex option trading via telephone trades placed through a dealing/brokerage desk. A few forex option brokers offer both online forex option trading as well a dealing/brokera ...Online Commodity Trading The system of fortnightly accounts is quite handy for a speculator or short-term operator in online commodity trading who buys in the hope that a price decline in the short run will bring him profit, or who sells in the hope that a price decline in the short run will bring him gains. If he buys commodities at the beginning of an account period, ...Why a Casino is Fun People love playing at casinos and their popularity is undeniable. Compared to a couple of decades ago, casinos are widespread throughout the United States. Cruise ships, state-licensed casinos, and Native American casinos entertain millions of people every year and make billions of dollars.What could possibly be the attraction of a place ...Don't Short-Change Yourself by Not Understanding Money Exchange Rates One pesky problem you may encounter while on vacation in a distant country is the varying value of currency. Your vacation will be more relaxing if you are familiar with the intricacies of money exchange rates. Every country has its own monetary system, meaning their currency is different than yours and its value fluctuates constantly. For insta ...Futures Trading Software Futures trading software plays an important role in the economics of speculation. Speculation brings about a gradual adjustment of prices to the contingencies foreseen by the speculator. If a speculator foresees that the market situation after six months will warrant a rise in prices, he begins to make purchases with the objective of selling the ...Online Futures Tradings The futures markets are organized and used not only for speculation but also for hedging, which is a method of eliminating risks arising from fluctuations in prices. Hedging may be referred to as the practice of covering the risks attaching to transactions in the cash market by contra-transactions in futures trading. If a commodity is purchased ...Online FX Trading In online FX trading, traders look for a currency that offers the highest return with the lowest risk. For example, if a nation’s financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds, offer high rates of return with relatively low risk, then traders who are foreign to that nation want to buy that currency, thus increasing the demand. Currency is also ...To Day Trade Not To Day Trade - That Is The Question If you look at some websites around the net you’d think that day trading was some kind of disease or something. So much bad press surrounds it that you would thing that anyone who tries it must be nuts! So what exactly is day trading anyway?That’s easy. Day trading is simply entering a trade on or after the opening of the day’s trading se ...Swing Trading Strategy Swing trading is a popular method of capitalizing on the short-term price variations of the stock market. It has earned a reputation of being a powerful method of maximizing profits at lower risks. The best swing trading strategy involves choosing the right stock and the right market. Swing traders usually choose the stocks that fluctuate at ext ...A Guide to Mutual Funds If you've been thinking about getting into investment but aren't sure what you should invest in, you might want to consider looking into investments in mutual funds. These funds are designed to provide a diverse investment opportunity for the shareholders who have purchased shares in the fund. They can be used as an easy way to create a diverse ...Online Currency Trading – Why It's Harder Today than Ever Before There are many who believe that the markets today, require the same skills as 30 years ago - but today’s markets are actually much harder to trade.It may surprise you, but markets have changed and are now harder to trade - but if you know why, you can increase your profits dramatically.If you don’t already understand why online cur ...Finding Online Financial Advice As much time as people spend looking for financial advice, it's amazing that more people don't take advantage of the financial knowledge that can be found online. Everything from stock investment and diversification tips to ways that you can get the most out of your chequeing and savings accounts can be found if you know where to look.Tho ...Will The Wii and PS3 Make a Buy for GameStop? As both Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii will be released this month (November 2006), you might be interested in purchasing shares of this relatively new company, GameStop (GME) on the basis of increasing sales and revenue from selling these systems. While such a deduction may make sense for a fruitful appetite of purchasing shares, there may be so ...Online Trading Brokerage Online Trading Brokerage has been starting to hit big as a business brokerage career. Some newer brokerage companies in the market now offer transaction services in the form of a website-interface. It’s easy to go online. Low commissions are usually offered in as low as one to two US-dollars. This online trading brokerage also provides fast tran ...Benefits of Online Investment Research The internet can be a powerful tool to help you manage your finances and investments… if you decide to use it. There are, of course, many people who choose not to take full advantage of the benefits that the internet can offer; they might not trust the security of their financial information in an online setting, they might be unsure whether som ...Bonds - Investing in Bonds for a Secured Future There may have been more than one occasion when you might have had to borrow money from a friend: at the coffee shop, in the office, or even for the cab service. When you run out of money, borrowing is usually your only way out. Juxtaposing the same with big corporations and the federal government, one would find it is not that easy for them. No ...Investors Chasing Uranium Mining Stocks, Again: A Favorite Emerges Fifty years ago, uranium fever hit Wall Street. It was then just a few years after a Navajo shepherd in New Mexico, by the name of Paddy Martinez, discovered “yellow rocks” on his property, mistaking them at first for gold. An avalanche of 1950s dollars (more valuable than the ones we have today) poured into mutual funds and uranium mining stock ...Forces that Move Stock Prices Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation, interest rates, bonds, commodities and currencies. At times the stock market suddenly reverses itself followed typically by published explanations phrased to suggest that the writer’s keen observation allowed him to predict the market turn. Such circumstances leave investors some ...Penny Stock Picks Penny stock picks are the top listing stocks among penny stocks. Penny stocks, otherwise known as small cap stocks and micro cap stocks, refer to stocks that are sold for less than one dollar per share.Penny stocks are not generally listed on major stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Stock Exchange ...Internet Footprints - Leaving Your (Brand) Name on the Web - Really a Benefit? It’s a morning ritual, where a few people are walking or running down the beach, the bulldozers are cleansing the sand, erasing all trials of the previous day. Cleansing your internet prints is hardly possible, after a day of surfing they are all over the web world and there is no way to erase them.Some companies leave their print, some o ...Common Misconceptions of New Traders • They think they can turn $1000 into $100,000 in six months. • They think they can predict turning points in their given markets to within minutes. • They think they can buy a system that is 100% accurate. • They think they will quit their jobs and make a living full time after a few months of trading.The truth is that 90% of ...Get The Help You Need To Become A Profitable Forex Trader If you are an aspiring Forex trader then you should be aware that there is a lot to learn about this huge market. Fortunately, there are many places where you can find out the information you need to help you become a successful foreign currency investor. Check online or in local bookstores and you will see there is a wealth of information on th ...Stock Trading For A Living – Don't Quit Your Day Job There comes a time in almost every stock trader’s life when they entertain the idea of stock trading for a living.Many of us look upon the life of a stock trader as one of great flexibility and freedom. We may see ourselves trading from some remote location or even our own private yacht.Before we embrace the fantasy too much let’s ...
|
