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Now, you can make money online with Forex trading in the global Forex trading market which is the world's largest, most profitable, most powerful and most persistent trading market.

For those who do not know it yet, FOREX an abbreviation for "FOReign EXchange" or "foreign currency exchange". Foreign exchange is the purchase or sale of a currency against sale or purchase of another. The FOREX market is the global interbank market where all currencies are traded.

"forextrading.com.my" will help you to become one of the top "Forex Traders" with our basic information on forex trading, in addition to other forex articles, forex tools, best forex books in the market, latest up-to-date forex trading news. Also, we will provide you with the best forex trading systems and forex brokers who are responsive to your individual needs as a forex trader.

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Forex Trading

Forex trading online, the process of trading foreign currencies via the internet, though a relatively new form of investing, has quickly become one of today's largest growing investment markets. Due to its high level of liquidity, simple execution, low transaction fees, and the fact that it is open year-round, 24 hours a day, the foreign currency trading market, otherwise known as forex trading, is extremely attractive to investors. Free of barriers to trade, forex trading offers the most equitable trading arena for all levels of customer. As you begin forex trading it is important to understand that, like all other forms of trading, there is risk involved with investments.

Forex Trading Basics.

Foreign Exchange trading, better known as Forex trading, is the concurrent buying of one currency while selling another. Forex trading is based on the movements of a set of currencies that are sold in currency pairs, where one currency is the base and one is the counter or quote currency. It also puts the currencies in terms of one currency's supply compared to the other currency’s demand. The gains or loss on a trade are based on the relative movements of the currencies within each currency pair. Pips or points are the numerical way in which the movements of currencies are quoted, positive movements being gains, negative movements reflecting losses. There are countless tools, and strategies associated with currency trading, and when first beginning, it is important to understand these tools before implementing any of them in trading strategies. Here is a list of the more popularly used Forex Trading Tools.

Technical and Fundamental Analysis.

In basic terms, there are two ways to analyze a currency trade. Reading and being well acquainted with political and financial news in terms of interest rate adjustments, international trade, and the general economic welfare of countries (GDP), are associated with what is called fundamental analysis, and are something for all traders to consider. The second type of trading is the technical analysis approach, which incorporates mathematical time charts and graphs that utilize historical currency movements to make predictions in the future. After determining whether fundamental trading, technical trading, or a combination of the two is appropriate, novice traders should test them on a forex demo account. This allow you to see the results of your strategies without risking your investments. From there it is easier to determine how risk-adverse a trader you are, and where you should place your stop/limit orders. Stops and limit orders are prearranged prices indicating positions, maximums and minimums, when traders would want to exit the markets, to hedge against massive losses. But above all, traders must realize that what they are willing to risk should also be what they are willing to lose.

The Establishment of Exchange Rates

Developing global currency values and the rates that they are traded are a result of many events, both concrete and psychological. Speculative foreign exchange in the 1970’s made up only 20% of total global foreign exchange transactions. Today it represents over 95% of current transactions. Currency trading has lead to huge amounts of money being changing hands on a daily basis as investors buy and sell currencies against each other. Many factors affect the value of a country’s currency including business cycles, political events, governmental and central bank monetary policies, stock market fluctuations, and international investment patterns.

Online Currency Trading

Since Forex trading is easily done through several means of communication, on-line trading being the most popular to date, it makes for lower transaction costs compared to other forms of trading such as equities or futures. Forex prices are also extremely transparent, due largely to the creation of the online trading platform. Both the transparency and low transaction fees make for even greater profit opportunities in currency trading. Traders have the ability to jump in and out of the forex market with great ease and large amounts of capital are not required to start forex trading. Currency prices are also not as volatile and usually move in strong trends thus reducing the risk that investors bear. Its size, liquidity, reliability, and tendency to move in strong trends make risk management easy for forex traders, enticing more and more people to trade currency. To trade forex you need an FX Trading Platform. Use an established and regulated company to make your trades with.

Forex Overview

What is FOREX?
Foreign Exchange (ForEex) trading is simply the exchanging of one currency for another - Each Forex trade can theoretically be viewed as a 'spread ' trade where to buy one currency you must sell another. Convention dictates that currencies are measured in units per 1 USD. For example, 1 USD is worth approximately 125 JPY (Japanese Yen) or 1 USD is worth approximately 1.5000 CHF (Swiss Francs). As a result, when USD/JPY appreciates in value, it is the USD that has appreciated in value relative to the JPY and not vice-versa. Position-wise, to own or be 'Long' USDJPY means that you are long the USD and concurrently short the JPY. USD, therefore, is the default 'lead' currency.

Foreign Exchange Market

About Foreign Exchange Market
The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "Forex" or "FX" market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of well over US$1 trillion -- 30 times larger than the combined volume of all U.S. equity markets. "Foreign Exchange" is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. 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 speculation. For speculators, the best trading opportunities are with the most commonly traded (and therefore most liquid) currencies, called "the Majors." Today, more than 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the Majors, which include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. A true 24-hour market, Forex trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night. The FX market is considered an Over The Counter (OTC) or 'interbank' market, due to the fact that transactions are conducted between two counterparts over the telephone or via an electronic network. Forex Trading is not centralized on an exchange, as with the stock and futures markets.

The foreign exchange market is not a "market" in the traditional sense. There is no centralized location for trading as there is in futures or stocks. Trading occurs over the telephone and on computer terminals at thousands of locations worldwide. Foreign Exchange is also the world's largest and deepest market. Daily market turnover has skyrocketed from approximately 5 billion USD in 1977 to a staggering 1.5 trillion US dollars today; even more on an active day. Most foreign exchange activity consists of the spot business between the US dollar and the six major currencies (Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar) The FOREX market is so large and is controlled by so many participants that no one player, governments included, can directly control the direction of the market, which is why the FOREX market is the most exciting market in the world. Central banks, private banks, international corporations, money managers and speculators all deal in FOREX trading.

Benefits of Trading Spot FX

LIQUIDITY: FOREX investors never have to worry about being "stuck" in a position due to a lack of market interest. In this US$1.5 trillion dollar per day market, major international banks are always willing to provide both a bid (buying) and ask (selling) price. Liquidity is a powerful attraction to any investor as it suggests the freedom to open or close a position at will. Because the market is highly liquid, most trades can be executed at a single market price. This avoids the problem of slippage found in futures and other exchange-traded instruments where only limited quantities can be traded at one time at a given price. The six major currencies (JPY, EUR, CHF, GBP, CAD & AUD) are generally considered to be the most liquid.

LEVERAGE: FOREX investors are permitted to trade foreign currencies on a highly leveraged basis - up to 100 times their investment with some brokers. An investment of US $10,000 would permit one to trade up to US $1,000,000 worth of any particular currency.

HOURS: A substantial attraction for participants in the FOREX market is that it is open 24 hours per day. An individual can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the opening bell when everyone else has the same information, as is the case in many markets. This may enable market participants to take positions before an important piece of information is fully factored into the exchange rate. High liquidity and 24 hour trading allow market participants to exit or open a new position regardless of the hour.

SIZE FLEXIBILITY: FOREX investors have greater flexibility with respect to their desired trade quantity. With most FOREX Brokers you can trade ANY DESIRED AMOUNT over $25,000 USD, specifically tailored to your needs or risk tolerance. Size or quantity flexibility can be especially useful to corporate treasurers who need to hedge a future cash flow or portfolio managers who need to hedge foreign equity exposure.

SETTLEMENT FLEXIBILITY: This concept, a corollary to point # 4, allows you to trade for various settlement dates or 'maturities' out to 1 year further allowing you to tailor your trades or hedges to your specific needs. This feature of trading FOREX differs from futures where settle dates are relegated to 4 'expirations' per year, and can also be quite useful to corporate treasurers and portfolio managers.

NEVER A 'BEAR' MARKET: Another advantage of the FOREX market is that there is no 'bear' market, per se. Currencies are traded in pairs, for example US dollar vs. yen or US dollar vs. Swiss franc. Every position involves the selling of one currency and the buying of another. If one believes the Swiss franc will appreciate against the dollar, one can sell dollars and buy Swiss francs. Or if one holds the opposite belief, one can buy dollars for Swiss francs. The potential for profit exists as long as there is movement in the exchange rate or price. One side of the pair is always gaining, and provided the investor picks the right side, a potential for profit ALWAYS exists.

FREE AND FAIR FLOW OF INFORMATION: Ever notice in the stock market that a certain stock is suddenly down 5% or more but you have absolutely no idea what caused such a quick spike? Usually, it's not until the next morning when you read it in the newspaper that you find out that earnings forecasts have been revised downward; or that an insider at a particular company has resigned; or that some other influential piece of information was released that you were not privy to. Imagine how much money you could have saved had you known this vital information at the same time as all other market 'insiders.' - Or how much you could even have earned in profit by acting in a timely manner… Imagine a market where there is little or no 'inside information' and all pertinent, market-moving news is released publicly to everybody in the world at the same time… Welcome to the foreign exchange market.

Cash FX vs. Currency Futures

As an investor it is important for you to understand the differences between cash FOREX and currency futures. In currency futures, the contract size is predetermined.

With FOREX (SPOT FX), you may trade any desired amount typically above $100,000 USD The futures market closes at the end of the business day (similar to the stock market) If important data is released overseas while the U.S. futures markets is closed, the next day's opening might sustain large gaps with potential for large losses if the direction of the move is against your position.

The Spot FOREX market runs continuously on a 24-hour basis from 7:00 am New Zealand time Monday morning to 5:00 pm New York Time Friday evening. Dealers in every major FX trading center (Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong/Singapore, London, Geneva and New York/Toronto) ensure a smooth transition as liquidity migrates from one time zone to the next. Furthermore, currency futures trade in non-USD denominated currency amounts only whereas in spot FOREX, an investor can trade either in currency denominations, or in the more conventionally quoted USD amounts. The currency futures pit, even during Regular IMM (International Money Market) hours suffers from sporadic lulls in liquidity and constant price gaps. The spot FOREX market offers constant liquidity and market depth much more consistently than Futures. With IMM futures one is limited in the currency pairs he can trade - Most currency futures are traded only versus the USD - With spot forex, (as with MoneyTec Trader) one may trade foreign currencies vs. USD or vs. each other on a 'cross' basis as well - ex: EURJPY, GBPJPY, CHFJPY, EURGBP and AUDNZD.

Who Are Forex Market Participants?

Banks
The interbank market caters for both the majority of commercial turnover as well as enormous amounts of speculative trading every day. It is not uncommon for a large bank to trade billions of dollars on a daily basis. Some of this trading activity is undertaken on behalf of customers, but a large amount of trading is also conducted by proprietary desks, where dealers are trading to make the bank profits. The interbank market has become increasingly competitive in the last couple of years and the god-like status of top foreign exchange traders has suffered as the equity guys are back in charge again. A large part of the banks' trading with each other is taking place on electronic brooking systems that have negatively affected the traditional foreign exchange brokers.

Interbank Brokers
Until recently, the foreign exchange brokers were doing large amounts of business, facilitating interbank trading and matching anonymous counterparts for comparatively small fees. Today, however, a lot of this business is moving onto more efficient electronic systems that are functioning as a closed circuit for banks only. Still, the broker box providing the opportunity to listen in on the ongoing interbank trading is seen in most trading rooms, but turnover is noticeably smaller than just a year or two ago

Customer Brokers
For many commercial and private clients, there is a need to receive specialised foreign exchange services. There is a fair amount of non-banks offering dealing services, analysis and strategic advice to such clients. Many banks do not undertake trading for private clients at all, and do not have the necessary resources or inclination to support medium sized commercial clients adequately. The services of such brokers are more similar in nature to other investment brokers and typically provide a service-orientated approach to their clients.

Investors and Speculators
As in all other efficient markets, the speculator performs an important role taking over the risks that commercial participants do not wish to be exposed to. The boundaries of speculation are unclear, however, as many of the above mentioned participants also have speculative interests, even some of the central banks. The foreign exchange markets are popular with investors due to the large amount of leverage that can be obtained and the ease with which positions can be entered and exited 24 hours a day. Trading in a currency might be the "purest" way of taking a view on an overall local market expectation, much simpler than investing in illiquid emerging stock markets. Taking advantage of interest rate differentials is another popular strategy that can be efficiently undertaken in a market with high leverage.

Commercial Companies
The commercial companies' international trade exposure is the backbone of the foreign exchange markets. Protection against unfavourable moves is an important reason why these markets are in existence, although it sometimes appears to be a chicken and egg situation - which came first and which produces the other? Commercial companies often trade in sizes that are insignificant to short term market moves, however, as the main currency markets can quite easily absorb hundreds of millions of dollars without any big impact. But it also clear that one of the decisive factors determining the long-term direction of a currency's exchange rate is the overall trade flow. Some multinational companies can have an unpredictable impact when very large positions are covered, however, due to exposures that are not commonly known to the majority of market participants.

Central Banks
The national central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. Ultimately, the central banks seek to control the money supply and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. As many central banks have very substantial foreign exchange reserves, the intervention power is significant. Among the most important responsibilities of a central bank is the restoration of an orderly market in times of excessive exchange rate volatility and the control of the inflationary impact of a weakening currency. Frequently, the mere expectation of central bank intervention is sufficient to stabilise a currency, but in case of aggressive intervention the actual impact on the short term supply/demand balance can lead to the desired moves in exchange rates. It is by no means always that a central bank achieves its objectives, however. If the market participants really wants to take on a central bank, the combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992-93 ERM collapse and in more recent times South East Asia.

Hedge Funds
Hedge funds have gained a reputation for aggressive currency speculation in recent years. There is no doubt that with the increasing amount of money some of these investment vehicles have under management, the size and liquidity of foreign exchange markets is very appealing. The leverage available in these market allow such fund to speculate with tens of billions at a time and the herd instinct that is very apparent in hedge fund circles means that getting Soros and friends on your back is less than pleasant for a weak currency and economy. It is unlikely, however, that such investments would be successful if the underlying investment strategy was not sound and therefore it is argued that hedge funds actually perform a beneficial service by exploiting and exposing unsustainable financial weaknesses, forcing realignment to more realistic levels.

What Influences the Market?
The primary factors that influence exchange rates are the balance of international payments for goods and services, the state of the economy, political developments as well as various other psychological factors. In addition, fundamental economic forces such as inflation and interest rates will constantly influence currency prices. In addition Central banks sometimes participate in the FOREX market by buying extremely large sums of one currency for another - this is referred to as Central Bank intervention. Central banks can also influence currency prices by changing their country's short-term interest rate to make it relatively more or less attractive to foreigners. Any of these broad-based economic conditions can cause sudden and dramatic currency price swings. The fastest moves, however, occur usually when information is released that is unexpected by the market at large. This is a key concept because what drives the currency market in many cases is the anticipation of an economic condition rather than the condition itself.

Activities by professional currency managers, generally on behalf of a pool of funds, have also become a factor moving the market. While professional managers may behave independently and view the market from a unique perspective, most, if not all, are at least aware of important technical chart points in each major currency. As the market approaches major 'support' or 'resistance' levels, price-action becomes more technically oriented and the reactions of many managers are often predictable and similar. These market periods may also result in sudden and dramatic price swings. Traders make decisions on both technical factors and economic fundamentals. Technical traders use charts to identify trading opportunities whereas fundamentalists predict movements in exchange rates by interpreting a wide variety of data, which range from breaking news to economic reports.

The History of FOREX Trading

Many centuries ago, the value of goods were expressed in terms of other goods. This sort of economics was based on the barter system between individuals. The obvious limitations of such a system encouraged establishing more generally accepted mediums of exchange. It was important that a common base of value could be established. In some economies, items such as teeth, feathers even stones served this purpose, but soon various metals, in particular gold and silver, established themselves as an accepted means of payment as well as a reliable storage of value. Coins were initially minted from the preferred metal and in stable political regimes, the introduction of a paper form of governmental I.O.U. during the Middle Ages also gained acceptance. This type of I.O.U. was introduced more successfully through force than through persuasion and is now the basis of today’s modern currencies. Before the first World war, most Central banks supported their currencies with convertibility to gold. Paper money could always be exchanged for gold. However, for this type of gold exchange, there was not necessarily a Centrals bank need for full coverage of the government's currency reserves. This did not occur very often, however when a group mindset fostered this disastrous notion of converting back to gold in mass, panic resulted in so-called "Run on banks " The combination of a greater supply of paper money without the gold to cover led to devastating inflation and resulting political instability.

In order to protect local national interests, increased foreign exchange controls were introduced to prevent market forces from punishing monetary irresponsibility. Near the end of WWII, The Bretton Woods agreement was reached on the initiative of the USA in July 1944. The conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire rejected John Maynard Keynes suggestion for a new world reserve currency in favor of a system built on the US Dollar. International institutions such as the IMF, The World Bank and GATT were created in the same period as the emerging victors of WWII searched for a way to avoid the destabilizing monetary crises leading to the war. The Bretton Woods agreement resulted in a system of fixed exchange rates that reinstated The Gold Standard partly, fixing the US Dollar at 35.00 per ounce of Gold and fixing the other main currencies to the dollar, initially intended to be on a permanent basis. The Bretton Woods system came under increasing pressure as national economies moved in different directions during the 1960’s. A number of realignments held the system alive for a long time but eventually Bretton Woods collapsed in the early 1970’s following president Nixon's suspension of the gold convertibility in August 1971. The dollar was not any longer suited as the sole international currency at a time when it was under severe pressure from increasing US budget and trade deficits.

The last few decades have seen foreign exchange trading develop into the worlds largest global market. Restrictions on capital flows have been removed in most countries, leaving the market forces free to adjust foreign exchange rates according to their perceived values. In Europe, the idea of fixed exchange rates had by no means died. The European Economic Community introduced a new system of fixed exchange rates in 1979, the European Monetary System. This attempt to fix exchange rates met with near extinction in 1992-93, when built-up economic pressures forced devaluations of a number of weak European currencies. The quest continued in Europe for currency stability with the 1991 signing of The Maastricht treaty. This was to not only fix exchange rates but also actually replace many of them with the Euro in 2002. Today, Europe is currently in the Euros third and final stage, where exchange rates are fixed in the 12 participating Euro countries but still use their existing currencies for commercial transactions. The physical introduction of the Euro will be between January 1, 2002 and July 1, 2002. At that point the old countries currencies will be obsolete. In Asia, the lack of sustainability of fixed foreign exchange rates has gained new relevance with the events in South East Asia in the latter part of 1997, where currency after currency was devalued against the US dollar, leaving other fixed exchange rates in particular in South America also looking very vulnerable. While commercial companies have had to face a much more volatile currency environment in recent years, investors and financial institutions have discovered a new playground. The size of the FOREX market now dwarfs any other investment market. It is estimated that more than USD 1,600 Billion are traded every day, that is the same amount as almost 40 times the daily USD volume on the American NASDAQ market.

Forex Glossary

Forex Exchange Market

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Aggressor: A trader dealing on an existing price in the market.
Appreciation: The increase in the value of an asset.
Arbitrage: Profiting from differences in the price of a single currency pair that is traded on more than one market.
Ask: The price at which a currency pair or security is offered for sale; the quoted price at which an investor can buy a currency pair. This is also known as the 'offer', 'ask price', and 'ask rate'.
Ask Price: See 'ask'.
Ask Rate: See 'ask'.
Asset: An item having commercial or exchange value.
 
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Back Office: The office location, or department, where the processing of financial transactions takes place.
Base Currency: In terms of foreign exchange trading, currencies are quoted in terms of a currency pair. The first currency in the pair is the base currency. The base currency is the currency against which exchange rates are generally quoted in a given country. Examples: USD/JPY, the US Dollar is the base currency; EUR/USD, the EURO is the base currency.
Bear Market: An extended period of general price decline in an individual security, an asset, or a market.
Bid: The price at which an investor can place an order to buy a currency pair; the quoted price where an investor can sell a currency pair. This is also known as the 'bid price' and 'bid rate'.
Bid/Ask Spread: The point difference between the bid and offer (ask) price.
Big Figure: The first two or three digits of a foreign exchange price or rate. Examples: USD/JPY rate of 108.05/10 the big figure is 108. EUR/USD price of .8325/28 the big figure is .83
Bull Market: A market which is on a consistent upward trend.
Buy Limit Order: An order to execute a transaction at a specified price (the limit) or lower.
Buy On Margin: The process of buying a currency pair where a client pays cash for part of the overall value of the position. The word margin refers to the portion the investor puts up rather than the portion that is borrowed.
 
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Cable: The British pound/US Dollar exchange rate GBP/USD.
Candlestick Chart: A chart that displays the daily trading price range (open, high, low and close).
Carry (Interest-Rate Carry): The income or cost associated with keeping a foreign exchange position overnight. This is derived when the currency pairs in the position have different interest rates for the same period of time.
Central Bank: A bank, administered by a national government, which regulates the behavior of financial institutions within its borders and carries out monetary policy.
Chartist: A person who attempts to predict prices by analyzing past price movements as recorded on a chart.
Closing a Position: The process of selling or buying a foreign exchange position resulting in the liquidation (squaring up) of the position.
Closing Market Rate: The rate at which a position can be closed based on the market price at end of the day.
Commission: The fee levied by an institution to undertake a trade on behalf of a customer.
Confirmation: Written acknowledgment of a trade, listing important details such as the date, the size of the transaction, the price, the commission, and the amount of money involved.
Counterpart: A participant in a financial transaction.
Cross-Rate: The exchange rate between 2 currencies where neither of the currencies are USD.
Currency: Money issued by a government.
Currency Pair: The two currencies that make up a foreign exchange rate. IE: USD/YEN.
Currency Risk: The possibility of an unfavorable change in exchange rates.
 
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Day Order: A buy or sell order that will expire automatically at the end of the trading day on which it is entered.
Day Trade: A trade opened and closed on the same trading day.
Day Trader: A trader who buys and sells on the basis of small short-term price movements.
Day Trading: Refers to a style or type of trading where trade positions are opened and closed during the same day.
Dealer: An individual or firm that buys and sells assets from their portfolio, acting as a principal or counterpart to a transaction.
Depreciation: A fall in the value of a currency due to market forces.
Devaluation: The act by a government to reduce the external value of its currency.
Discretionary Account: An account in which the customer permits a trading institution to act on the customer's behalf in buying and selling currency pairs. The institution has discretion as to the choice of currency pairs, prices, and timing-subject to any limitations specified in the agreement.
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Euro: The common currency adopted by eleven European nations(Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal) on January 1, 1999.
European Central Bank (ECB): The Central Bank for the new European Monetary Union.
Execution: The Process of completing an order or deal.
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): The regulatory agency responsible for administering bank depository insurance in the United States.
Federal Reserve (Fed): The Central Bank of the United States.
Fill: The process of completing a customer's order to buy or sell a currency pair.
Fill Price: The price at which a buy or sell order was executed.
Financial Risk: The risk that a firm will be unable to meet its financial obligations.
Flat: Term describing a trading book with no market exposure.
Forward: A transaction that settles at a future date.
Forward Points: The points that are added to or subtracted from the spot rate to calculate the forward rates for a forward foreign exchange transaction. These points are based on the differential between the interest rates of the two currency pairs.
Forward Price: (See forward rates).
Forward Rates: The net price resulting from calculating the forward points and subtracting them from the existing spot rate. This is the rate at which a currency can be purchased or sold for delivery in the future.
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Good Till Cancelled Order (GTC): A buy or sell order which remains open until it is filled or canceled.
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Hedge: A transaction that reduces the risk on an existing investment position.
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Initial Margin: The deposit a customer needs to make before being allocated a trading limit.
Initial Margin Requirement: The minimum portion of a new security purchase that an investor must pay for in cash.
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Jobber: A trader who trades for small, short-term profits during the course of a trading session, rarely carrying a position overnight.
 
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Limit Order: An order to execute a transaction at a specified price (the limit) or better. A limit order to buy would be at the limit or lower, and a limit order to sell would be at the limit or higher.
Liquidity: Refers to the relationship between transaction size and price movements. For example, a market is "liquid" if large transactions can occur with only minimal price changes.
Long: See long position.
Long Position: In foreign exchange, when a currency pair is bought, it is understood that the primary currency in the pair is 'long', and the secondary currency is 'short'.
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Maintenance: A set minimum margin that a customer must maintain in his margin account
Margin: The amount of money needed to maintain a position.
Margin Account: An account that allows leverage buying on credit and borrowing on currencies already in the account. Buying on credit and borrowing are subject to standards established by the firm carrying the account. Interest is charged on any borrowed funds and only for the period of time that the loan is outstanding.
Margin Call: A call for additional funds in a margin account either because the value of equity in the account has fallen below a required minimum (also termed a maintenance call) or because additional currencies have been purchased (or sold short).
Mark-to-Market: The theoretical value of an open position at the current market price.
Market Close: This refers to the time of day that a market closes. In the 24 hour-a-day foreign exchange market, there is no official market close. 5:00 PM EST is often referred to and understood as the market close because value dates for spot transactions change to the next new value date at that time.
Market-Maker: A person or firm that provides liquidity making two-sided prices (bids and offers) in the market.
Market Order: A customer order for immediate execution at the best price available when the order reaches the marketplace.
Market Rate: The current quote of a currency pair.
Market Risk: The risks that occur when general market pressures cause the value of an investment to fluctuate.
Maturity: The date on which payment of a financial obligation is due.
Momentum: The tendency of a currency pair to continue movement in a single direction.
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OCO-One Cancels the Other Order: A combination of two orders in which the execution of either one automatically cancels the other.
Offer: The price at which a currency pair or security is for sale; the quoted price at which an investor can buy a currency pair. This is also known as the 'ask', 'ask price', and 'ask rate'.
Open Order: Buy or sell order that remains in force until executed or cancelled by the customer.
Open Position: Any position (long or short) that is subject to market fluctuations and has not been closed out by a corresponding opposite transaction.
Order: A customer's instructions to buy or sell currencies.
Overnight Position: Trader's long or short position in a currency at the end of a trading day.
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Pip: The smallest increment of change in a foreign currency price, either up or down.
Price: The price at which the underlying currency can be bought or sold.
Price Transparency: The ability of all market participants to "see" or deal at the same price.
Principal Value: The original amount invested by the client.
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Quote: A simultaneous bid and offer in a currency pair.
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Rate: Price at which a currency can be purchased or sold against another currency.
Resistance: Price level at which technical analysts note persistent selling of a currency.
Revaluation: Daily calculation of potential profits or losses on open positions based on the difference between the settlement price of the previous trading day and the current trading day.
Risk (Foreign Exchange Risk): The risk that the exchange rate on a foreign currency will move against the position held by an investor such that the value of the investment is reduced.
Risk Management: The employment of financial analysis and use of trading techniques to reduce and/or control exposure to financial risk.
Roll-Over: The process of extending the settlement value date on an open position forward to the next valid value date.
 
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Sell Limit Order: An order to execute a transaction only at a specified price (the limit) or higher.
Selling Short: A situation where a currency has been sold with the intent of buying back the position at a lower price to make a profit.
Settlement: The actual delivery of currencies made on the maturity date of a trade.
Short: See short position.
Short position: In foreign exchange, when a currency pair is sold, the position is said to be short. It is understood that the primary currency in the pair is 'short', and the secondary currency is 'long'.
Short Squeeze: The pressure on short sellers to cover their positions as a result of sharp price increases.
Spot Market: Market where people buy and sell actual financial instruments (currencies) for two-day delivery.
Spot/Next or S/N roll: The process of moving the spot settlement value date on an open position forward to the next valid value date. This process will affect the profit or loss on the overnight position. The forward points reflect the difference in interest rates between the currencies being rolled over.
Spot Price: The current market price of a currency that normally settles in 2 business days (1 day for Dollar/Canada).
Spread: This point or pip difference between the bid and ask price of a currency pair.
Sterling: Another term for the British currency, 'The Pound'.
Stop (loss) Order: Order to buy or sell when a given price is reached or passed to liquidate part or all of an existing position.
Stop Order (or stop): An order to buy or to sell a currency when the currency's price reaches or passes a specified level.
Support Levels: A price at which a currency or the currency market will receive considerable buying pressure.
Swap: A transaction which moves the maturity date of an open position to a future date.
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Take Profit Order: A customer's instructions to buy or sell a currency pair which, when executed, will result in the reduction in the size of the existing position and show a profit on said position.
Tick: The smallest possible change in a price, either up or down.
Tomorrow Next (Tom/Next), (T/N), T/N Roll: The process of moving the settlement value date on an open position forward from one business day after the trade date (tomorrow), to the next valid value date (next), the spot value date.
Transaction Date: The date on which a trade occurs.
Turnover: The total volume of all executed transactions in a given time period.
Two-Way Price: A quote in the foreign exchange market that indicates a bid and an offer.
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Value Date: The maturity date of the currency for settlement, usually two business days (one day for Canada) after the trade has occurred.
Variation Margin: Funds, which are required to bring the equity in an account back up to the initial margin level, calculated on a day-to-day basis.
Volatility (VOL): Statistical measure of the change in price of a financial currency pair over a given time period.
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Yard: A slang word used in the currency industry meaning 'billion'.
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Forex Books

Learn Forex Trading

Forex Trading

Forex trading online, the process of trading foreign currencies via the internet, though a relatively new form of investing, has quickly become one of today's largest growing investment markets. Due to its high level of liquidity, simple execution, low transaction fees, and the fact that it is open year-round, 24 hours a day, the foreign currency trading market, otherwise known as forex trading, is extremely attractive to investors. Free of barriers to trade, forex trading offers the most equitable trading arena for all levels of customer. As you begin forex trading it is important to understand that, like all other forms of trading, there is risk involved with investments.

Forex Trading Basics.

Foreign Exchange trading, better known as Forex trading, is the concurrent buying of one currency while selling another. Forex trading is based on the movements of a set of currencies that are sold in currency pairs, where one currency is the base and one is the counter or quote currency. It also puts the currencies in terms of one currency's supply compared to the other currency’s demand. The gains or loss on a trade are based on the relative movements of the currencies within each currency pair. Pips or points are the numerical way in which the movements of currencies are quoted, positive movements being gains, negative movements reflecting losses. There are countless tools, and strategies associated with currency trading, and when first beginning, it is important to understand these tools before implementing any of them in trading strategies. Here is a list of the more popularly used Forex Trading Tools.

Technical and Fundamental Analysis.

In basic terms, there are two ways to analyze a currency trade. Reading and being well acquainted with political and financial news in terms of interest rate adjustments, international trade, and the general economic welfare of countries (GDP), are associated with what is called fundamental analysis, and are something for all traders to consider. The second type of trading is the technical analysis approach, which incorporates mathematical time charts and graphs that utilize historical currency movements to make predictions in the future. After determining whether fundamental trading, technical trading, or a combination of the two is appropriate, novice traders should test them on a forex demo account. This allow you to see the results of your strategies without risking your investments. From there it is easier to determine how risk-adverse a trader you are, and where you should place your stop/limit orders. Stops and limit orders are prearranged prices indicating positions, maximums and minimums, when traders would want to exit the markets, to hedge against massive losses. But above all, traders must realize that what they are willing to risk should also be what they are willing to lose.

The Establishment of Exchange Rates

Developing global currency values and the rates that they are traded are a result of many events, both concrete and psychological. Speculative foreign exchange in the 1970’s made up only 20% of total global foreign exchange transactions. Today it represents over 95% of current transactions. Currency trading has lead to huge amounts of money being changing hands on a daily basis as investors buy and sell currencies against each other. Many factors affect the value of a country’s currency including business cycles, political events, governmental and central bank monetary policies, stock market fluctuations, and international investment patterns.

Online Currency Trading

Since Forex trading is easily done through several means of communication, on-line trading being the most popular to date, it makes for lower transaction costs compared to other forms of trading such as equities or futures. Forex prices are also extremely transparent, due largely to the creation of the online trading platform. Both the transparency and low transaction fees make for even greater profit opportunities in currency trading. Traders have the ability to jump in and out of the forex market with great ease and large amounts of capital are not required to start forex trading. Currency prices are also not as volatile and usually move in strong trends thus reducing the risk that investors bear. Its size, liquidity, reliability, and tendency to move in strong trends make risk management easy for forex traders, enticing more and more people to trade currency. To trade forex you need an FX Trading Platform. Use an established and regulated company to make your trades with.

Forex Tutorial

Forex tutorial - fundamental analysis

Forex Fundamental Analysis

One of the two major strategies when trading foreign currency is through the use of what is known as fundamental analysis. Loosely defined, it is the approach based on studying current events, political and financial policy trends, and overall economic movement. In general traders using this technique are usually interested in long-term trades when trying to create returns. Economic conditions and environments are the major factor in determining the potential movements or upcoming trends that fundamental traders will use to not only predict future valuations of currencies, but also correct present values as well. Unfortunately one of the downfalls of fundamental trading is that during periods of little activity, and quite markets it is hard to find any useful data. Fundamental analysis itself is broken down into two broad subcategories, capital flows, and trade flows.
 

Tracking Balance of Payments

These study the demand of a currency over a given period of time, which is also known as the balance of payments. Capital flows are the net amount of currency being bought or sold through capital investments, which can include anything from foreign direct investments, joint ventures, third party licensing agreements, equity market investments, and fixed income market investments. The first three types of investments mentioned are physical flows of capital that can reflect the financial stability and economic growth of a country and its currency. The latter two are the flow of more common portfolio investments and international government bonds.
 

Trade Flows

The second type of fundamental analysis is trade flows, measuring imports and exports of a nation and its impact on the valuation of its currency. International trade plays a large role in the forex market, since importers must sell currency in order to purchase foreign goods or services. It is a one of the first ways used to understand the changes in exchange rates, and still among the most predictable ways to study the value of currencies. Net importers, or countries that run trade deficits traditionally experience devaluation of their currency, while those that run trade surpluses increase the value of theirs. The balance between trading partner and their affect on international trade transfer to the balance of payments and capital flows.
 

Monitoring Global Events

Fundamental traders follow global events, and their impacts on international investments. This makes both political relations, as well as financial status important to the trade process. Any changes in the relationship of one country’s government with another’s can effect the pricing of any currency pair in the forex market. Thus when using fundamental analysis it is important to stay abreast of current breaking news in order to produce profits.

Forex tutorial - Technical Analysis

Forex Technical Analysis

Technical analysis is the preferred short-term trading method. Technical traders base their study of the foreign currency market on historical pricing of currencies, using graphs and charts to plot real-time data. Integration of past prices, volume data, and exchange rates are taken and formed into trends that can be followed. Like fundamental analysis, there are several ways to go about using technical analysis to create a strategy for currency trading. It also takes into account the psychological trends of buyers and sellers, which are more apparent in short-term pricing. The driving force of greed and fear of instability are easy indicators of future pricing possibilities of currencies.
 

Time Horizons

Time horizons for technical trading can be broken down in charts, graphs and studies from as small as a single minute, to as long as a monthly basis. Like most other markets, forex trading places more weight on select types of technical analysis. Among the most popular indicators are Fibonacci Retracement Levels, Oscillators, Candlestick analysis, and Bollinger Bands. Retracement series are based on mathematical ratios, but more specifically, Fibonacci sets are created by summing the two preceding figures in a series of numbers. The interesting features lie within the ratios and means of these series that are constant, which are important since they describe how far a price has moved from its underlying trends. It will then help in hedging against risk for currency price pairs.

Oscillators

Oscillators are moving averages of prices, which are analyzed over a period of time. When using them, it is more useful to take shorter time periods as it will reflect a estimated price that is close to actual present values of currencies then when using long time spans. Oscillators are not utilized as the best way to predict changes in trends, but rather signal appropriate times to buy and sell. When a specific exchange rate moves above its moving average price this should be a trigger to buy, but when it falls below the average, it is a selling indicator. Within moving averages, two types can be identified: Simple moving averages that are basic mathematical calculations dividing closing prices by the number of time periods, and Exponentially Smoothed moving averages that are weighted by taking into account the average of the prior day.

Candlestick Chart

The third type of chart is a candlestick chart that maps the high, low, open and close prices of a currency pair in a single wick. The graph itself is a form of a bar graph, and contains a series of bars (wicks) that depict market fluctuations. The difference between the open and close bid is marked by a change in color, green for close above the open price, red for the opposite.
 

Bollinger Bands

Finally Bollinger Bands show the volatility of a currency using moving average envelopes in a statistical manner. Standard deviation levels are set and are generally movement in prices contained within 95% of two bands. Technical analysis, though accurate and scientific in nature, it requires an understanding of mathematical theories to best develop trade strategies.

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