The foreign currency exchange market offers today's investor many advantages and here are just reasons why you might want to become a world currency trader.
A Market Which Never Closes
Many of the trading markets around the world are situated in fixed locations and operate within strict trading hours, often limited to just five or six hours a day between Monday and Friday. The Forex market however is open 24 hours a day.
This means that traders can not only take advantage of international events and react literally as they happen, but they also have the ability set their own trading hours. If you prefer to work in the mornings then that's fine but, if this doesn't suit you, then you can choose to trade during the afternoon, late evening or even in the middle of the night if you want to.
Low Trading Costs
In many markets, like the equity market, traders not only have to pay a spread (the difference in price between buying and selling a stock) but also have to pay a commission to the broker. On small trades this commission can typically be about $20 and this can rise rapidly to over $100 for larger trades.
Because the foreign currency exchange market is a wholly electronic market many of the traditional trading costs are eliminated and you are in affect reduced to paying nothing more than the spread. In addition, the extremely liquid nature of the global currency exchange market means that spreads are normally much tighter than those seen in other markets.
The Ability To Trade On High Leverage
In most markets where a trader has an opportunity to trade on leverage the leverage offered is often quite low. In the case of equity markets, for example, professional equity day traders will normally operate on a leverage of about ten times their capital. In the Forex market by contrast it is quite common to find that traders are permitted to trade at one hundred to two hundred times their capital.
A downside of high leverage is that it can of course lead to high losses as well as high gains. However, within the foreign currency market, risk management is extremely tightly controlled.
Limited Slippage
In currency trading trades are executed immediately using real-time prices at which firms will buy or sell the currencies quoted. In almost all cases this means that the price you see and the price you pay are the same.
This is not often the case in other markets where there can be often considerable delays between placing an order and that order being executed during which time the price will often move against you.
The Chance To Profit In Both Rising And Falling Markets.
Equity markets follow rising and falling trends (cycling between Bull and Bear markets), but the Forex market does not suffer this cycling which comes from structural bias in the market.
World currency trading always involves two currencies so that if you are down on one currency then you are up on the other. There is therefore always the potential for making a profit whether the market is rising or falling.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
5 Reasons For Becoming A World Currency Trader
Calculating Pip Values
Perhaps the first question we need to ask is what does pip mean in forex trading? A pip is the smallest movement that is possible in the price of one currency against another and it is vital to be able to calculate pip values quickly and easily as it is the movement in prices which results in your profit or loss when trading.
A pip is normally, but not always, 0.0001 or 0.01%. In other words, if a currency moves from a price of 1.7650 to 1.7655 it is said to move 5 pips.
The easiest way to understand how to calculate pip values is to start by considering currency pairs which involve the US Dollar and we start by considering the situation when the US Dollar is the quote currency as in the case of JPY/USD, GBP/USD or CHF/USD.
Here calculating a pip value is very easy as a pip will always have a value of $10. So, if while trading JPY/USD the market moves in your favor by 10 pips you will make a profit of $100. Let's see how this works.
Consider a quote of GBP/USD is 1.9730. This means that 1 UK Pound is worth 1.9730 US Dollars. A standard InterBank lot size is 100,000 and which means that 100,000 UK Pounds are worth 197,300 US Dollars. If the market moves 1 pip so that GBP/USD is 1.9731 then 100,000 UK Pounds will now be worth 197,310 US Dollars - a rise of $10.
Now let's turn our attention to what happens when the US Dollar is the base currency and consider a quote of USD/GBP = 0.6439. Here 1 US Dollar is worth 0.6439 UK Pounds and 100,000 US Dollars are worth 64,390 UK Pounds.
If the price moves up 1 pip then USD/GBP = 0.6440 and 1 US Dollar is worth 0.6440 UK Pounds and 100,000 US Dollars is worth 64,400 UK Pounds.
In this case a movement of 1 pip represents a value of 10 UK Pounds which, in US Dollars, gives a pip value of 15.53 US Dollars (10 ÷ 0.6440).
For a standard trading lot with the US Dollar as the quote or counter currency a pip has a value of $10 but, when the US Dollar is the base currency, the pip value will vary with the market price.
How A Forex Trade Works
A Guide For The Forex Currency Trading Beginner
For the Forex currency trading beginner a trade can be a little confusing until you break it down and come to grips with some of the trading terminology.
The purpose of any Forex trade is to swap one currency for another in the belief that the market will move and prices change such that the currency that you buy rises in value in relation to the currency which you sell.
The first important point is that each trade involves two currencies - the currency which you buy and the currency you sell. This gives us our first two important trading terms - the long position and the short position.
You take a long position when you buy a currency in the belief that it will rise in value and that you will able to sell at a profit.
If you sell a currency in the belief that it will fall in value you take a short position and hope to make a profit by buying it back again once the price has fallen.
The next important concept is that of the open and closed position. When you take a long position and buy a currency in the expectation that it will rise in value you open a position. When you later sell that currency to take you profit you close the position. The same is true when you take a short position and open that position by selling a currency in the expectation that it will fall in price and later close the position when you buy the currency back at the lower price.
Note: How does day trading work? You will often hear the term 'day trading' used and this confuses a lot of newcomers to the world of investing. When applied to forex trading, day trading simply means short-term trading effected by opening and closing trading positions within the same trading day, rather than running a trade over an extended period of time.
In Forex trading currencies are referred to by codes (developed by the International Organization for Standardization and known as ISO codes) such as USD for the US Dollar and GBP for the UK Pound. Prices for these currencies are quoted as either USD/GBP or GBP/USD with the first currency appearing in the quote being the base currency and the second currency being the counter or quote currency.
Here's an example quote to make things a bit easier to understand:
USD/GBP = 0.5260
In this case the US Dollar is the base currency and the UK Pound is the counter or quote currency. The base currency is always read as a single unit and so this quote means that it will cost 0.5260 UK Pounds to buy 1 US Dollar. Here's another quote:
GBP/USD = 1.9150
In this case it will cost 1.9150 US Dollars to buy 1 UK Pound.
The Dangers Of Getting Emotional About A Forex Trade
Anyone who has seen the film Wall Street will undoubtedly remember Michael Douglas telling Martin Sheen not to get emotional about a stock. This is good advice for people trading in the stock market, but it is absolutely vital for people involved in Forex trading.
It is very easy to find yourself caught up in a trade. You open a position because you feel good about it and then you hang in there even if the market starts to move against you because you just know that the market is going to turn back in your favor. From time to time of course it does but, as a general rule, it doesn't.
The problem here is that you allow yourself to become attached to a trade and your decision to stay with it is very much an emotional decision. Also, because you are emotionally attached to a trade you view closing your position as an admission that you were wrong to have opened it in the first place.
Trading within the Forex market has to be driven by the market indicators and your trading decisions must be based on what these indictors are telling you and not on how you are feeling. If you are going to be a successful trader then you have to be ruled by your head and not by your heart.
There will be times when you find that you have an emotional attachment to a specific currency and that the majority of your trading tends to be in that currency. There's nothing wrong with this. You may even feel sometimes that the time is right to buy a particular currency. That's okay too. The mistake is not to follow a feeling about a particular currency but to open a position purely on the basis of this feeling.
If you have a feeling about a currency then begin by checking it out and take a look at the market numbers. If the numbers tell you that the time is right to open a position then do so but, if they tell you that it's not a favorable market then, no matter how you feel about it, you should not get into the market.
Similarly, if you have opened a position and the indicators tell you that the market is moving against you and that it is time to close your position then do so. Your heart may well tell you to 'hang in there' but it is the market and not your heart which pays your bills
In Forex trading you will win on some trades and will lose on others and that's nothing more than the way the market works. It is not a question of whether you are right or you are wrong. The market will frequently move unexpectedly and catch out even the most experienced of traders.
The secret lies in following the market indicators, recognizing that you are going to lose in a trade and getting out as quickly as you can to minimize your loss. You can then move on to your next, hopefully profitable, trade.
Forex Trading Strategies Are The Key To Successful Trading
Before venturing into the world of Forex trading it is vitally important that you stop and think carefully about the trading strategy that you are going to adopt, because forex trading strategies are the key to success in currency trading. There is no single strategy when it comes to trading in the foreign currency markets and every Forex trader has to develop his own strategy. It is important however to have a clearly defined plan from the very outset.
Some Forex traders choose to use a technical approach when it comes to trading while others are more at home with a fundamental approach. Both approaches are of course sound, but in reality most successful traders use a combination of the two to give them both an overview of the foreign exchange market and to permit them to plot specific entry and exit points for each currency trade.
The idea behind technical analysis is simply that prices rise and fall according to well established trends and that the currency market possesses clearly identifiable patterns which can be seen as long as you know what to look for. Knowledge and experience come into play here, but it is also a question of using the numerous analytical tools that are available and this means having a sound working knowledge not just the patterns of price movement but also of the tools at your disposal.
Many traders also rely on what are known as support and resistance levels. Here 'support' refers to a low price which is repeatedly seen as being the bottom of the market and from which there is a tendency for prices to rise. A 'resistance level is a high price beyond which a currency is rarely traded.
The principle here is that, should a currency break through either its support or resistance level, its price is likely to continue in that direction. So, if the price of a currency rises above its resistance level it is considered to be bullish and the price can frequently be expected continue to rise.
Another commonly used tool in foreign currency trading is that of moving averages. A simple moving average (SMA) shows the average price in a given time period (say 7 or 10 days) when the price is plotted out over a longer time period. Forex traders use moving averages to eliminate short term fluctuations in price and to provide a clearer picture of the movements in currency prices. A SMA can be plotted to indicate when prices are displaying a tendency to rise or fall. Prices which rise above the average will frequently continue to rise and, similarly, prices which fall below the average will often continue to fall.
These are just two of the many trading tools that can be used either in isolation or in combination and it is recommended that traders make use of several trading tools to analyze the market. If you are relying on just a single trading tool then trading can often be risky but, if the results from several different tools show that the market is moving in a particular direction then trading can be conducted with a fair degree of confidence.
Many traders will base their trading upon a fundamental analysis of the market and thus base their trading on such things as economic and political events, trade figures, inflations figures, unemployment rates and a host of other similar forms of data.
Fundamental analysis can be very powerful but it is perhaps at its most powerful when it is used alongside technical analysis, particularly as a tool to reinforce the indications derived from technical analysis.
In many ways it does not matter what trading strategy you adopt as long as you are happy that it can provide you with clear expectations about movements in the market and indicate to you just where you should be trading and when you should enter and exit individual trades.
A sound knowledge and understanding of fundamental and technical analysis should be every forgein currency trader's starting point when it comes to building a Forex trading strategy.
What is day trading?
We often hear the term 'day trading' today but just what is day trading?
In very simple terms a day trader buys and sells with a very short investment horizon which is typically measured in minutes with trading positions being opened and closed within the same trading day. Day trading is particularly suited to high volume, volatile markets such as the forex but is certainly not limited to currency trading. It is for example very commonly seen in the equity markets, although it tends to be seen on the more volatile exchanges such as the NASDAQ, rather than the NYSE or AMEX.
The principle is simply to spot an opportunity and then profit from it quickly getting in and out of the market with just enough time to make your profit and too little time to risk the market turning against you. For example, you might open a position at 11:00 am and close it out just a few minutes later at 11:07 am to take a small but quick profit and repeat this process as many as a hundred times in a single trading session.
Today this traditional definition has been widened somewhat and we now also refer to the practice of trading from home through an online broker as day trading. And, just to complicate matters, the term 'swing trading' has also started to appear recently to refer to traders with a slightly longer investment horizon of anywhere from one to five days.
Day trading in its truest form (buying and selling with a very short investment horizon) is a risky business and is not something which you should try unless you know exactly what you are doing as, while it can be very profitable, it can also produce very large losses very quickly.
Although we talk about 'investment horizons' it also needs to be understood that day trading is not the same as investing and you will be working to very short timeframes during which you will need to be glued to your computer screen jumping onto the wave of a trade as it gains momentum and the jumping off as it crests in order to ride the next wave. Spotting the waves as they roll in and knowing just when to jump on and jump off requires both skill and practice.
For those who enjoy the excitement of the roller coaster ride then day trading can be both exciting and profitable but it is not something for the novice forex trader and should only be contemplated once you have cut your teeth in the world of currency trading and gained a fair amount of experience.
How To Make Money In Foreign Exchange
The forex (foreign exchange) market is the world's largest trading market in which world currencies can be purchased and sold and, while it has been in existence for many years, the market we see nowadays has been born out of significant changes in the 1970s when floating currencies and free exchange rates came in.
The forex market has no 'home' and trading can be made from just about anywhere in the world, not least using your own personal home computer. The trading market is effectively open day and night because as the market in one country is closing the market in another country on the other side of the globe is opening. In other words you can trade at whatever time suits you whether that is during the normal working day or in the middle of the night. There will always be someone somewhere who is willing to do business with you.
The secret when it comes to making money in foreign exchange trading is to begin by learning the ropes of the business and this means locating a good training course. It is not all that hard to make money with foreign exchange, but you will surely lose your shirt if you do not know exactly what you are doing. So, you have to take the time to learn the business before you begin and then have to make sure that you spend a little of time working with a dummy trading account before you begin to trade with your own money.
When you do start live trading begin slowly and steer clear of day trading until you are sure of your ground as this particular area of the market can be very volatile and is influenced by several outside factors. Also, set yourself strict trading limits and do not go outside them under any circumstances. Essentially, never trade with money that you cannot afford to lose because, while you will unquestionably make money, you will also have your fair share of losing trades while you are getting the hang of things.
Finally, ensure that you are using the best forex trading software you can afford and do not be afraid to ask for help when you get stuck!
How To Read Forex Charts: 5 Things You Must Know
Learning the basic skills in forex, such as how to read forex charts, is really important.
This is because once you have this vital skill under your belt, it will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes for you to learn and practice an actual forex trading system.
By the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to read forex charts, as well as know the pitfalls that can occur when reading them, especially if you haven't traded forex before.
Firstly, let's revise the basics of a forex trading as this relates directly to how to reade forex charts.
Each currency pair is always quoted in the same way. For example, the EURUSD currency pair is always as EURUSD, with the EUR being the base currency, and the USD being the terms currency, not the other way round with the USD first. Therefore if the chart of the EURUSD shows that the current price is fluctuating around 1.2155, this means that 1 EURO will buy around 1.2155 US dollars.
And your trade size (face value) is the amount of base currency that you're trading. In this example, if you want to buy 100 000 EURUSD, you're buying 100 000 EUROs.
Now let's have a look at the 5 important steps on how to read a forex chart:
1. If you buy the currency pair, that is, you're long the position, realise that you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go up, to make a profit on the trade. That is, you want the base currency to strengthen against the terms currency.
On the other hand if you sell the currency pair to short the position, then you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go down, to make a profit. That is, you want the base currency to weaken against the terms currency.
Pretty simple so far.
2. Always check the time frame displayed. Many trading systems will use multiple time frames to determine the entry of a trade. For example, a system may use a 4 hour and a 30 minute chart to determine the overall trend of the currency pair by using indicators such as MACD, momentum, or support and resistance lines, and then a 5 minute chart to look for a rise from a temporary dip to determine the actual entry.
So ensure that the chart you're looking at has the correct time frame for your analysis. The best way to do this is to set up your charts with the correct time frames and indicators on them for the system you're trading, and to save and reuse this layout.
3. On most forex charts, it is the BID price rather than the ask price that's displayed on the chart. Remember that a price is always quoted with a bid and an ask (or offer). For example, the current price of EURUSD may be 1.2055 bid and 1.2058 ask (or offer). When you buy, you buy at the ask, which is the higher of the 2 prices in the spread, and when you sell, you sell at the bid, which is the lower of the two prices.
If you use the chart price to determine an entry or exit, realise that when you place an order to sell when the chart price is say 1.330, then this is the price that you'll sell at assuming no slippage.
If on the other hand, you place an order to buy when the chart price is the same price, then you'll actually buy at 1.3333. A forex system will often determine whether your orders will be placed simply according to the chart price or whether you need to add a buffer when buying or selling.
Also note that on many platforms, when you're placing stop orders (to buy if the price rises above a certain price, or sell when the price falls below a certain price) you can select either "stop if bid" or "stop if offered".
4. Realise that the times shown on the bottom of forex charts are set to the particular time zone that the forex provider's charts are set to, be it GMT, New York time, or other time zones.
It's handy to have a world clock available on your computer desktop in order to convert the different time zones. This is important when you're trading major economic announcements.
You'll need to convert the time of an announcement to your local time, and the chart time, so you'll know when the announcement is going to happen, and therefore when you need to trade.
5. Finally, check whether the times on your forex charts corresponds to when the candle opens or when the candle closes. Your charting software may be different to someone else's in this way.
The reason I mention this, is that if you need to trade major economic announcements, either by entering a trade based on the movements that happen after the announcement, or to exit a trade before the announcement in avoid getting stopped out during it, then you need to be precise (to the minute!) as these trades are performed according to what happens at the 1 minute immediately after the announcement, not the candle afterwards!
So there you have it.
You now have the 5 essential keys to how to properly read forex charts, which will help you to avoid the common mistakes which many forex beginners make when looking at charts, and which will speed up your progress when you're looking at forex charting packages, and forex trading systems that you want to trade!
Now that you know this, practice looking at forex charts with each of these 5 points in mind.
So get to it!
by Mark Hamburg
http://www.theforextrader.net/forex-charting-software.php
Main Drawbacks of Forex Traders
Why is it that very few traders succeed in the Forex trading environment while the grand majority of traders fail to achieve success? There is no hard answer to this question, there are a few things that will put you one step ahead and will definitely put the odds in your favor.
The main purpose of this article is to guide you through some important aspects of Forex trading. But in a different way, instead of telling you what to do or the best way to do it, it will tell you what to avoid. Sometimes it is better to identify the main drawbacks on a discipline and then isolate them so we have the best results at a certain level of development.
The Holy Grail
Many traders spend years and years trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. That magic indicator or set of indicators, only known by a few traders, that will make them rich in a short period of time.
Fact: Well, there is no magic indicator, nor a set of indicators that will make anyone rich in a short period of time. The main reason of this is because market changes, every single moment is unique. Every Forex trading system will fail from time to time. Our work here is to find a Forex trading system that fits our personality as traders, otherwise the trader will find it hard to follow it.
Looking for Easy Money
Unfortunately most traders are attracted to the Forex market for this reason. Mainly because of the publicity showing or rather trying to show how easy is to trade and make money in the Forex market.
Fact: Yes, it is very easy to trade, anyone can do it. It is as hard as one click. But the second part of it isn’t that easy. Making money or achieving consistent profitable results is hard. It requires lots of education, patience, discipline, commitment, and this list could go to infinite. In a few words, it is possible to have consistent profitable results, but definitely it is not easy.
Looking for Excitement
Some other traders are attracted to the Forex market or any other financial market because they think it is exciting to be a trader.
Fact: Yes, it is very exciting to trade the Forex market. But if this is the main reason you are still trading the Forex market, sooner or later you will discover the most expensive adventure you have ever known. Do some thinking on it.
Not Using Money Management
Most traders forget about this important aspect of trading. They think they shouldn’t be using money management until they achieve consistent profitable results. They totally forget about the risk side of trading.
Fact: Money management allows your profits to increase geometrically, but also limits your risk on every single trade. Money management tells you how much to risk on each trade. Using money management is a must if you want to achieve your trading goals. By using money management you make sure you are going to be able to trade tomorrow, the next week, month and the following years.
Not Being Psychology Tuned
This is one of the most underestimated subjects when it comes to trading. One of the main principles of financial markets is that the price of each instrument is based on the perception of each individual participant “the crowd.” In other words the price of each instrument is determined by the fear, greed, ego and hope of all traders.
Fact: Being aware of all psychological issues that affect the decisions made by traders will definitely put the odds in your favor.
Lack of Education
Education is the base of knowledge on every discipline. As lawyers and doctors require several years of college until they get their degree, Forex traders also require long years of study. It is better to have someone experienced to guide you through your trading, since some information could take you in the wrong path.
Fact: The market teaches us invaluable lessons on every single trade made. The process of education for a Forex trader could take for ever. That’s right, we never stop learning. We should be humble about the markets and our knowledge; otherwise the market will prove us wrong.
These are some of the most important barriers every trader faces when trying to trade successfully.
Trading successfully the Forex markets is no easy task, it requires a lot of hard work to do it right, but with the right education, you will put yourself closer to your trading goals.
5 Things You Must Do If You Want To Attain Financial Freedom Through Forex Trading
With the amazing growth of the forex market, you are going to see an astounding amount of traders lose all their money. Unfortunately, they haven't followed the simple steps I have laid out for you. Go through these steps and give yourself the greatest opportunity to achieve your goals.
1. Have Faith In Yourself
To reach the level of elite forex trader, you must trust in yourself and your forex trading education. You must be willing to make all your trading decisions, instead of relying on someone else's thoughts or ability (or lack of). Of course, you will prepare yourself fully before every risking any money.
2. Accept Your Learning Curve
Unless you are a veteran trader, you will lose money trading the Forex market. This is a near certainty. I don't say this to talk you out of trading. In fact, quite the opposite. You will be trading against others that fall to this reality day in and day out. You, however, will not risk a dime until you have learned the skills you need to make money trading the forex.
3. Decide What Type of Trader You Are
There are many ways to trade the forex. They range from very active to very patient. You must decide which style suits you best. The best time to learn this about yourself is while you are trading a demo account. There is no need to allow your learning curve to cost you money.
4. Get Educated
Education is the shortest path to elite forex trading. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will reach them quicker with a great forex trading education. Take some time to review different options before deciding on who to trust with your forex trading education needs. A forex seminar will help shorten your learning curve drastically.
5. Continue to Get Educated
In order to achieve and retain elite forex trading skills, you must constantly be adding to you knowledge base. Your education should never end. In fact, one of the key points to look for in an elite forex trading course is ongoing education. It's nice to have an ongoing relationship with the person/people helping you to achieve your goals.
What separates an elite forex trader from all others is their desire and ability to be independent. Many traders are willing to follow signals, systems, strategies, or anything else you may call them. By taking this approach, however, these traders are only as good as the people they follow.
An elite forex trader will lead. Their decisions will be calculated and analyzed to near perfection. They will make decisions with no hesitation, and handle the growth of their account in a predetermined, intelligent fashion. Take your trading to their level and you will never look back.
by Eddie Yakubovich
elite-forex-trading.com
eddiey@elite-forex-trading.com
Real Forex Traders Learn to Like Losses
As a forex trader you have to learn how to take losses. Period. Don't be a crybaby. Learn how to take losses.
Learning how to take losses is one of the most important lessons you must learn if you want to survive as a trader. Nobody is 100% right all the time.
Losses are inevitable. Even Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods lose sometimes and they're considered the best in their field.
There will be trading streaks where you'll have a number of successful consecutive trades, but that will eventually come to an end you will take a loss.
As that point it's very important not to lose your head, you must remain in control of yourself. Don't have a cow man.
Take a break. Calm down and relax. Take a chill pill dude.
Until you've regained a clear mind and an ability to think logically again, stay out of the market.
Don't whine about your loss and never carry a prejudice against a loss.
The key to manage losses is to cut them quickly before a small loss becomes a large one.
I repeat. The key to manage losses is to cut them quickly before a small loss becomes a large one.
Never ever think that you will never lose. That's just ludicrous. Losses are just like profits, it's all part of the trader's universe.
Losses are unavoidable. Get over the loss and move on to the next trade.
by Scottie Pippin
BabyPips.com
Forex Course: A Quick Forex Guide for Traders
In this Forex course we will review some steps you need to take care before you venture into your trading journey. Most traders venture into the Forex market with little or no experience in the Forex market. This results in painful experiences like loosing most of the risk capital, frustration because it seemed so easy to make money, etc.
The first thing you need to realize is that, it is not easy to make money. As every other endeavor in life, where important rewards are to come after mastering it, you need to work hard. You need to get very well educated and experienced before having the possibility to receive important rewards on it. The key on mastering the Forex market relies on commitment, patience and discipline.
Ok, you have decided you are going to trade the Forex market, you have seen several advertisings featuring how easy is to make money in the Forex market. You might think this is your opportunity to reach your financial freedom, right away, time is money, why waiting any longer if you have the opportunity to make money now. I know, I've been there, but you have a chance now, I didn't, no body told me what I am going to tell you.
We, Forex traders, make transactions based on a set of rules. These sets of rules are what we call a Trading System. Our systems tell us the exact time where we need to get in the market and out the market in order to make a profit (i.e. buy low sell high.)
Creating a system is the first big step you need to take care first. Why is this so important? Because you need to build a system that suits your personality, otherwise you are going to find hard to follow it, thus hard to profit from. A system can be based on technical indicators or what we called a mechanical system or based on experience and intuition or what we call discretionary systems. I highly recommend using and trying first a mechanical system, because discretionary systems are dangerous during the early stages of a Forex trader (can lead to indiscipline.) With experience, on later stages, you will find out which signals work better and which ones to avoid.
The next step in this Forex course is to try your system on a demo account. Most Forex brokers offer a demo account, an account with virtual money. This is an excellent choice to test your trading system as there is no money at risk. In this step you will figure out if the strategy works for you. If you feel comfortable trading it, then it is most likely to produce good results. How much time should you stay in this step? It varies, but you shouldn't go one step further until your system gets consistent profitable results over a period of time. It can take many months, but remember, you need to be patient.
You must be honest to yourself; you need to take every single signal generated by your system, not only the signals you thought were going to work, otherwise, you are going to have problems in the next two steps.
Ok, by know you had consistent profitable results on your demo account. You might think its time to go full. Nope, nope, nope. There is a big difference between trading a demo and a real account. The most important difference lies on emotions (fear, greed, anger, etc.) These are psychological barriers that affect every single decision made by traders regardless of what he/she is trading (stocks, bonds, Forex, futures, grains, etc.) These emotional factors, in my opinion, are the most determinant factor that separates profitable traders from the others.
The next step in this Forex course is specially designed to deal with emotions and to confirm the results obtained in the prior step (consistent results in a demo account.) At this step you need to trade in a real account with limited funds. Some brokers offer fractional lot trading. Meaning you are able to trade any desired amount (even cents.) The important thing here is that these emotions we've been talking about are present only when there is real money at risk. At this stage, you are going to see if you are really comfortable trading your system and if you are able to trade with such system, remember different systems produce different emotions. If you are able to produce similar results than those obtained in a demo account, then ready for the next step. If you didn't, then you might need to create another system, there is chance your system never fit you. If you created consistent profitable results on this stage, you have a chance to produce similar results in the next one, on the other hand, if you didn't produce good results in this stage, you will not be able to make on the next stage. Remember, you need to do things right, and be honest to yourself.
The last stage is trading in a real account with sufficient funds. If you are at this stage, and have passed successfully every prior stage, then you have a chance to make it, go ahead and try it, you need to be confident in yourself and in your system, your strategy have already produced consistent profitable results, there are reasons to believe you are going to make it. Very few traders fail at this stage (if passed successfully prior stages.)
Trading successfully is no easy task, it requires a lot of work, patience, discipline, and education. By completing the steps outlined in this Forex course, you have a chance to produce profitable results. I repeat it again, you need to be honest to yourself about the results obtained in every stage. Some times you might need expert guidance regarding your system development strategies.
by Raul Lopez
http://www.straightforex.com
info@straightforex.com
Learn By Hands On Forex Trading: Demo Accounts Vs Mini Accounts
If you are new to Forex, you are likely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information you are finding about currency trading. Although the concept of trading the currency markets is simple to understand, the actual trading methodologies and understanding of how, why and when trades are executed can be hard concepts to grasp and fully understand. If you aren't aware by now, forex trading is not without substanial risks.
There are several schools of thought on how a new trader should progress from learning to actual live trading. In this article we will discuss the best ways for a new trader to learn how to trade the forex and make their first live trades.
To start out, I can not stress enough the need for hands on trading. This is why you will often hear it recommended that new traders start trading with a demo account. What is a demo account? Many online forex brokers offer something known as a "demo account" which is a fake account that you can trade until you feel comfortable trading your own funds. Demo accounts behave just like real accounts, the only difference is that the money you are trading is not real and no actual trades are ever executed.
The purpose of using a demo account if you are new to Forex trading is to get you comfortable making trades and to help you become familiar with the brokers trading platform. You can cut your proverbial teeth so to speak without risking any of your own funds. This makes demo accounts good for a brand new trader who just wants to see how trading works. There are some drawbacks however to using demo accounts to learn Forex trading.
The biggest downside to using a demo account is that you will likely only be able to trade standard size accounts with a demo account. If you intend to trade mini accounts, as many beginning forex traders do, a standard size demo account is going to behave differently than a mini account. Your margins are very different for a standard account versus a mini account. If you become accustomed to trading a standard size account, your trading methodologies will show it. This is because the larger margins offered on standard size accounts allow you to take greater profits from smaller movements in currency prices.
The other major downside to trading with a demo account for learning forex is that as a trader, you need to carefully manage the emotional aspects of trading real money. Since a demo account is fake money, detachment is easy to come by. Once you start trading your actual funds, you might just find that your tolerance for risk is much more conservative. Ideally, as you are learning to trade you are also learning how to manage your risks most effectively.
So what is a beginning trader to do? What is the best way to learn to trade the Forex, hands on?
Once you have read, studied, and completed any courses on Forex trading that you may be taking, you are ready for probationary live trading. The single best way to trade the Forex is to just Do it. Now, this does not mean to jump in and trade a full size account with real money, this would be an enormous risk for a new trader and not a very smart move indeed. What you can do is to find a broker that offers mini accounts. Mini accounts typically start at $200 and typically give you 100:1 leverage. That said, as of this writing, there is one broker (Easy-Forex) that allows you to trade a live mini account for as little as $25.
For less than you paid for any of your books, courses or training materials, you can actually try live trading. You will be amazed at how after just a few trades, the stubborn concepts seem to start making sense and you begin to understand Forex trading.
Now, if you do decide to begin your trading with one of these tiny mini accounts, you should start by making several very small trades. You should also be trading with the same system or methodology that you are trying to perfect. Your profits will likely only be a few dollars since you are trading on a small margin. This is good, however because the reverse is true as well, you are only ever risking a few real dollars. If you happen to have a series of loosing trades and wipe out the funds in your demo account, you can consider it the least expensive education you could possibly get in actual forex trading. Much better than loosing large sums of funds, and more realistic than trading a demo account. Just learn from the experience, and consider it a good deal on a valuable lesson.
Once you are comfortable trading your mini account, you can always have it converted to a regular account (with an additional deposit) if you choose. Overall, it cant be stressed enough, the best way to learn the Forex is to have experience with live hands on trading. This article showed you ways that you can do this at a minimal cost and with the smallest amount of risk.
by Amber Lowery
Monday, February 2, 2009
--- W ---
--- V ---
Variation Margin - Funds a broker must request from the client to have the required margin deposited. The term usually refers to additional funds that must be deposited as a result of unfavorable price movements.
Volatility (Vol) - A statistical measure of a market's price movements over time.
--- U ---
Uptick - a new price quote at a price higher than the preceding quote.
Uptick Rule - In the U.S., a regulation whereby a security may not be sold short unless the last trade prior to the short sale was at a price lower than the price at which the short sale is executed.
US Prime Rate - The interest rate at which US banks will lend to their prime corporate customers.
--- T ---
Tick - A minimum change in price, up or down.
Tomorrow Next (Tom/Next) - Simultaneous buying and selling of a currency for delivery the following day.
Transaction Cost - the cost of buying or selling a financial instrument.
Transaction Date - The date on which a trade occurs.
Turnover - The total money value of all executed transactions in a given time period; volume.
Two-Way Price - When both a bid and offer rate is quoted for a FX transaction.
--- S ---
Short Position - An investment position that benefits from a decline in market price. When the base currency in the pair is sold, the position is said to be short.
Spot Price - The current market price. Settlement of spot transactions usually occurs within two business days.
Spread - The difference between the bid and offer prices.
Square - Purchase and sales are in balance and thus the dealer has no open position.
Sterling - slang for British Pound.
Stop Loss Order - Order type whereby an open position is automatically liquidated at a specific price. Often used to minimize exposure to losses if the market moves against an investor's position. As an example, if an investor is long USD at 156.27, they might wish to put in a stop loss order for 155.49, which would limit losses should the dollar depreciate, possibly below 155.49.
Support Levels - A technique used in technical analysis that indicates a specific price ceiling and floor at which a given exchange rate will automatically correct itself. Opposite of resistance.
Swap - A currency swap is the simultaneous sale and purchase of the same amount of a given currency at a forward exchange rate.Swissy - Market slang for Swiss Franc.
--- R ---
Range - The difference between the highest and lowest price of a future recorded during a given trading session.
Rate - The price of one currency in terms of another, typically used for dealing purposes.
Resistance - A term used in technical analysis indicating a specific price level at which analysis concludes people will sell.
Revaluation - An increase in the exchange rate for a currency as a result of central bank intervention. Opposite of Devaluation.
Risk - Exposure to uncertain change, most often used with a negative connotation of adverse change.
Risk Management - the employment of financial analysis and trading techniques to reduce and/or control exposure to various types of risk.
Roll-Over - Process whereby the settlement of a deal is rolled forward to another value date. The cost of this process is based on the interest rate differential of the two currencies.
Round trip - Buying and selling of a specified amount of currency.
--- P ---
Political Risk - Exposure to changes in governmental policy which will have an adverse effect on an investor's position.
Position - The netted total holdings of a given currency.
Premium - In the currency markets, describes the amount by which the forward or futures price exceed the spot price.
Price Transparency - Describes quotes to which every market participant has equal access.
Profit /Loss or "P/L" or Gain/Loss - The actual "realized" gain or loss resulting fromtrading activities on Closed Positions, plus the theoretical "unrealized" gain or loss on Open Positions that have been Mark-to-Market.
--- O ---
Offsetting transaction - A trade with which serves to cancel or offset some or all of the market risk of an open position.
One Cancels the Other Order (OCO) - A designation for two orders whereby one part of the two orders is executed the other is automatically cancelled.
Open order - An order that will be executed when a market moves to its designated price. Normally associated with Good 'til Cancelled Orders.
Open position - An active trade with corresponding unrealized P&L, which has not been offset by an equal and opposite deal.
Over the Counter (OTC) - Used to describe any transaction that is not conducted over an exchange.
Overnight Position - A trade that remains open until the next business day.
Order - An instruction to execute a trade at a specified rate.
--- N ---
--- M ---
Margin Call - A request from a broker or dealer for additional funds or other collateral to guarantee performance on a position that has moved against the customer.
Market Maker - A dealer who regularly quotes both bid and ask prices and is ready to make a two-sided market for any financial instrument.
Market Risk - Exposure to changes in market prices.
Mark-to-Market - Process of re-evaluating all open positions with the current market prices. These new values then determine margin requirements.
Maturity - The date for settlement or expiry of a financial instrument.
--- L ---
Leverage - Also called margin. The ratio of the amount used in a transaction to the required security deposit.
LIBOR - The London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. Banks use LIBOR when borrowing from another bank.
Limit order - An order with restrictions on the maximum price to be paid or the minimum price to be received. As an example, if the current price of USD/YEN is 117.00/05, then a limit order to buy USD would be at a price below 102. (ie 116.50)
Liquidation - The closing of an existing position through the execution of an offsetting transaction.
Liquidity - The ability of a market to accept large transaction with minimal to no impact on price stability.
Long position - A position that appreciates in value if market prices increase. When the base currency in the pair is bought, the position is said to be long.
Lot - A unit to measure the amount of the deal. The value of the deal always corresponds to an integer numbe
--- I ---
Initial Margin - The initial deposit of collateral required to enter into a position as a guarantee on future performance.
Interbank Rates - The Foreign Exchange rates at which large international banks quote other large international banks.
Intervention - Action by a central bank to effect the value of its currency by entering the market. Concerted intervention refers to action by a number of central banks to control exchange rates.
--- H ---
"Hit the bid" - Acceptance of purchasing at the offer or selling at the bid.
--- G ---
Going Long - The purchase of a stock, commodity, or currency for investment or speculation.
Going Short - The selling of a currency or instrument not owned by the seller.
Gross Domestic Product - Total value of a country's output, income or expenditure produced within the country's physical borders.
Gross National Product - Gross domestic product plus income earned from investment or work abroad.
Good 'Til Cancelled Order (GTC) - An order to buy or sell at a specified price. This order remains open until filled or until the client cancels.
--- F ---
Federal Reserve (Fed) - The Central Bank for the United States.
First In First Out (FIFO) - Open positions are closed according to the FIFO accounting rule. All positions opened within a particular currency pair are liquidated in the order in which they were originally opened.
Flat/square - Dealer jargon used to describe a position that has been completely reversed, e.g. you bought $500,000 then sold $500,000, thereby creating a neutral (flat) position.
Foreign Exchange - (Forex, FX) - the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another.
Forward - The pre-specified exchange rate for a foreign exchange contract settling at some agreed future date, based upon the interest rate differential between the two currencies involved.
Forward Points - The pips added to or subtracted from the current exchange rate to calculate a forward price.
Fundamental Analysis - Analysis of economic and political information with the objective of determining future movements in a financial market.
Futures Contract - An obligation to exchange a good or instrument at a set price on a future date. The primary difference between a Future and a Forward is that Futures are typically traded over an exchange (Exchange- Traded Contacts - ETC), versus forwards, which are considered Over The Counter (OTC) contracts. An OTC is any contract NOT traded on an exchange.
FX - Foreign Exchange.
--- E ---
End Of Day Order (EOD) - An order to buy or sell at a specified price. This order remains open until the end of the trading day which is typically 5PM ET.
European Monetary Union (EMU) - The principal goal of the EMU is to establish a single European currency called the Euro, which will officially replace the national currencies of the member EU countries in 2002. On Janaury1, 1999 the transitional phase to introduce the Euro began. The Euro now exists as a banking currency and paper financial transactions and foreign exchange are made in Euros. This transition period will last for three years, at which time Euro notes an coins will enter circulation. On July 1,2002, only Euros will be legal tender for EMU participants, the national currencies of the member countries will cease to exist. The current members of the EMU are Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
EURO - the currency of the European Monetary Union (EMU). A replacement for the European Currency Unit (ECU).
European Central Bank (ECB) - the Central Bank for the new European Monetary Union.
--- D ---
Dealer - An individual or firm that acts as a principal or counterpart to a transaction. Principals take one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party. In contrast, a broker is an individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission.
Deficit - A negative balance of trade or payments.
Delivery - An FX trade where both sides make and take actual delivery of the currencies traded.
Depreciation - A fall in the value of a currency due to market forces.
Derivative - A contract that changes in value in relation to the price movements of a related or underlying security, future or other physical instrument. An Option is the most common derivative instrument.
Devaluation - The deliberate downward adjustment of a currency's price, normally by official announcement.
--- C ---
Candlestick Chart - A chart that indicates the trading range for the day as well as the opening and closing price. If the open price is higher than the close price, the rectangle between the open and close price is shaded. If the close price is higher than the open price, that area of the chart is not shaded.
Cash Market - The market in the actual financial instrument on which a futures or options contract is based.
Central Bank - A government or quasi-governmental organization that manages a country's monetary policy. For example, the US central bank is the Federal Reserve, and the German central bank is the Bundesbank.
Chartist - An individual who uses charts and graphs and interprets historical data to find trends and predict future movements. Also referred to as Technical Trader.
Cleared Funds - Funds that are freely available, sent in to settle a trade.
Closed Position - Exposures in Foreign Currencies that no longer exist. The process to close a position is to sell or buy a certain amount of currency to offset an equal amount of the open position. This will 'square' the postion.
Clearing - The process of settling a trade.
Contagion - The tendency of an economic crisis to spread from one market to another. In 1997, political instability in Indonesia caused high volatility in their domestic currency, the Rupiah. From there, the contagion spread to other Asian emerging currencies, and then to Latin America, and is now referred to as the 'Asian Contagion'.
Collateral - Something given to secure a loan or as a guarantee of performance.
Commission - A transaction fee charged by a broker.
Confirmation - A document exchanged by counterparts to a transaction that states the terms of said transaction.
Contract- The standard unit of trading.
Counter Currency - The second listed Currency in a Currency Pair.
Counterparty - One of the participants in a financial transaction.
Country Risk - Risk associated with a cross-border transaction, including but not limited to legal and political conditions.
Cross Currency Pairs or Cross Rate - A foreign exchange transaction in which one foreign currency is traded against a second foreign currency. For example; EUR/GBP
Currency symbols
AUD - Australian Dollar
CAD - Canadian Dollar
EUR - Euro
JPY - Japanese Yen
GBP - British Pound
CHF - Swiss Franc
Currency - Any form of money issued by a government or central bank and used as legal tender and a basis for trade.
Currency Pair - The two currencies that make up a foreign exchange rate. For Example, EUR/USD
Currency Risk - the probability of an adverse change in exchange rates.
--- B ---
Bar Chart - A type of chart which consists of four significant points: the high and the low prices, which form the vertical bar, the opening price, which is marked with a little horizontal line to the left of the bar, and the closing price, which is marked with a little horizontal line of the right of the bar.
Base Currency - The first currency in a Currency Pair. It shows how much the base currency is worth as measured against the second currency. For example, if the USD/CHF rate equals 1.6215 then one USD is worth CHF 1.6215 In the FX markets, the US Dollar is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes, meaning that quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the other currency quoted in the pair. The primary exceptions to this rule are the British Pound, the Euro and the Australian Dollar.
Bear Market - A market distinguished by declining prices.
Bid Price - The bid is the price at which the market is prepared to buy a specific Currency in a Foreign Exchange Contract or Cross Currency Contract. At this price, the trader can sell the base currency. It is shown on the left side of the quotation. For example, in the quote USD/CHF 1.4527/32, the bid price is 1.4527; meaning you can sell one US dollar for 1.4527 Swiss francs.
Bid/Ask Spread - The difference between the bid and offer price. Big Figure Quote - Dealer expression referring to the first few digits of an exchange rate. These digits are often omitted in dealer quotes.. For example, a USD/JPY rate might be 117.30/117.35, but would be quoted verbally without the first three digits i.e. "30/35".
Book - In a professional trading environment, a 'book' is the summary of a trader's or desk's total positions.
Broker - An individual or firm that acts as an intermediary, putting together buyers and sellers for a fee or commission. In contrast, a 'dealer' commits capital and takes one side of a position, hoping to earn a spread (profit) by closing out the position in a subsequent trade with another party.
Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 - An agreement that established fixed foreign exchange rates for major currencies, provided for central bank intervention in the currency markets, and pegged the price of gold at US $35 per ounce. The agreement lasted until 1971, when President Nixon overturned the Bretton Woods agreement and established a floating exchange rate for the major currencies.
Bull Market - A market distinguished by rising prices.
Bundesbank - Germany's Central Bank.
--- A ---
Adjustment - Official action normally by either change in the internal economic policies to correct a payment imbalance or in the official currency rate or.
Appreciation - A currency is said to 'appreciate' when it strengthens in price in response to market demand.
Arbitrage - The purchase or sale of an instrument and simultaneous taking of an equal and opposite position in a related market, in order to take advantage of small price differentials between markets.
Ask (Offer) Price - The price at which the market is prepared to sell a specific Currency in a Foreign Exchange Contract or Cross Currency Contract. At this price, the trader can buy the base currency. In the quotation, it is shown on the right side of the quotation. For example, in the quote USD/CHF 1.4527/32, the ask price is 1.4532; meaning you can buy one US dollar for 1.4532 Swiss francs.
At Best - An instruction given to a dealer to buy or sell at the best rate that can be obtained.
At or Better - An order to deal at a specific rate or better.
