Forex Currency Basics Explained

What is currency trading? Well, at its simplest it is exchanging one currency for another, just as you might do when going on vacation to another country. You trade your own currency for the currency of the country you are visiting.

However, when people talk about forex (foreign exchange) trading or currency trading on the forex market, they generally mean something very different. In this case traders are constantly exchanging one currency for another (buying currencies and selling others) with the goal of making a profit when the exchange rates change.

It is a little like trading in stocks on the stock market. Stock traders usually buy and sell stocks very quickly compared with the average personal investor who will take the advice of a broker but often keep stocks for years or even decades.

How Does Currency Trading Work?

The best way to demonstrate how currency trading makes money for the traders is to use an example.

Let's say the current rate on the British pound to euro forex market is this: GBP/EUR 1.1200. That means that to buy one British pound you will need 1.12 euros. If you believed that the value of the euro was going to rise compared to the value of the pound, you might sell 100,000 pounds, buy 100,000 euros, and wait. Then let’s say a few days later, the exchange rate has moved to: GBP/EUR 1.0600. Sure enough, the pound is now worth only 1.06 euros. Now if you sell your euros and buy back 100,000 pounds, you will have made a profit of 6% of your investment, less any fees.

This sound like a lot of money. Who has 100,000 pounds or even dollars lying around in the bank to trade with? Not me, and I guess not you either. But fortunately, you do not have to have all that money for real. You are buying and selling at the same time, so all you need to have is enough to cover any loss that might be made before you could exit the market if your prediction was bad and the currency that you bought started to fall. Your broker loans you the rest.

This is known as trading margins. On a $100,000 trade the margin is usually 1% or 2%, i.e. $1,000 or $2,000. This is the money that you must have cozaar 100mg generic in your forex brokerage account.

The amount you trade is determined by ‘lots’. A lot may be worth $10,000 or more depending on the currency and the Forex broker. So if you want to trade $20,000 you would trade 2 lots and so on.

There are now limited risk accounts, where you can only risk the amount of cash you have on account with the broker, thus avoiding margin calls. This is done by allowing smaller players to trade forex using ‘mini lots’ or fractions of a lot. So you can trade $1,000 by trading 0.10 of a lot. This cuts the risk but may cost more to trade.

More and more ordinary people are getting into Forex trading these days. It has certain advantages over the stock market and even if you know nothing about valuation of the different currencies you can set up a forex trading robot, a complex software program that will trade for you according to the settings you choose. Keep in mind that it is a risky business and capital can be lost as well as gained. Knowing what is currency trading gives you an idea of whether you want to take the next step towards becoming a currency trader.

A88756434

 Mail this post

StumbleUpon It!

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Subscribe For Forex Secrets !

Get My Best F.REE Forex Profit Booster Training !

  • Your thoughts and questions are important February 7, 2012
    We are looking for great questions for Adam and Jeremy to answer on MarketClub TV tomorrow night at 4PM EST. Are you wondering where the markets are heading? Or do you have a market that you would like us to analyze? Email your questions to marketclubtv@ino.com We’d love to answer them during the show.  The MarketClub Team […]
    Adam Hewison
  • Crude Oil comes alive as traders turn away from Europe and refocus on the Middle East. February 7, 2012
    Hello fellow traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Tuesday, the 7th of February. Crude Oil flashes signs of growing tension. The crude oil market has a range of three dollars so far today and is moving to the upside as traders turn their attention away from Europe, […]
    Adam Hewison
  • It’s halftime in America and the final minutes of the game in Greece! February 6, 2012
    Hello fellow traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Monday, the 6th of February. Gold succumbs to gravity. The gold market finally succumbs to gravity and flashes a caution signal. The pause that refreshes. After big gains in January and early February, the equity markets pause to catch […]
    Adam Hewison
  • The Patriots lose in the Super Bowl … so how is this bullish for the stock market? February 6, 2012
    The Patriots lose in the Super Bowl … so how is this bullish for the stock market? According to stats when a AFC team loses (New England Patriots) its bullish for the stock market 80% of the time. Couple that with the January effect, which indicates that if the month of January is positive, the […]
    Adam Hewison
  • Trading Setups – The 1 2 3 Divergence February 6, 2012
    Today we’ve asked Tony Edwards to share his favorite trade entry setups with our readers. Tony Edwards has been an active independent trader for nearly 20 years. He trades an extremely wide range of instruments with a special focus on YM, ES, 6E, CL and GC. He offers traders daily, unique support and resistance levels […]
    Jeremy
  • My Favorite Super Bowl Commercial February 6, 2012
    When i watched this commercial just after half time, Yes, the game is still on, I instantly knew that it was my favorite commercial of Super Bowl 46. Very inspirational, great writing and of course the very believable Clint Eastwood. Let me know What do you think? […]
    Adam Hewison
  • NASDAQ closes at its best levels in over a decade … should you trust this move? February 4, 2012
    NASDAQ closes at its best levels in over a decade … should you trust this move? Hello fellow traders everywhere, Adam Hewison here co-founder of MarketClub with your weekend update for the trading week ending on 2/03/12. ————- Big moves in the equity markets Gold get slapped down Crude Oil goes nowhere and the world […]
    Adam Hewison
  • It’s Friday…Do you know how to find winning trades today? February 3, 2012
    Hello fellow traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Friday, the 3rd of February. How do you find winning trades on Friday? Use “The 52-week new highs on Friday rule”! Here are the three rules you need to trade: Rule # 1: When a market closes at or […]
    Adam Hewison
  • Unemployment rate falls to 8.3% February 3, 2012
    The unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight month after a surge of January hiring. Is this a promising shift in the outlook for job growth? We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic, please leave us a comment. Every Success, The MarketClub team   […]
    Jeremy
  • Bernanke speaks and gold rallies…Amazing. February 2, 2012
    Hello fellow traders everywhere! Adam Hewison here, co-founder of MarketClub with your mid-day market update for Thursday, the 2nd of February. Is the move in gold for real, or is it just hype at this point? We will examine gold and see what led to today’s rally. 3 Stocks on the move today: ABERCROMBIE & […]
    Adam Hewison
[slider_ads id=1]