There are many benefits and advantages to trading Forex. Here are just a few reasons why so many people are choosing this market:
* No commissions. No clearing fees, no exchange fees, no government fees, no brokerage fees. Brokers are compensated for its services through the bid-ask spread.
* No middlemen. Spot currency trading away with the middlemen and allows clients to interact directly with the market responsible for the pricing on a particular currency pair.
* No fixed lot size. In the futures markets, lot or contract sizes are determined by the exchanges. A standard-size contract for silver futures is 5000 ounces. In spot Forex, you determine the lot size. This allows traders to participate with accounts as small as $300.
* Low transaction cost. The retail transaction cost (the bid/ask spread) is typically less than 0.1 percent under normal market conditions. At larger dealers, the spread could be as low as .07 percent. This will be explained later.
* A 24-hour market. There is no waiting for the opening bell. From Sunday evening to Friday afternoon EST, the Forex market never sleeps. This is very desirable for those who want to trade on a part-time basis, because you can choose when you want to trade–morning, noon or night.
* No one can corner the market. The forex market is so huge and has so many participants that no single entity, not even a central bank, can control the market price for an extended period of time. Even interventions by mighty central banks are becoming increasingly ineffective and short-lived. Central banks are becoming less and less inclined to intervene to manipulate market prices.
* Leverage. In Forex trading, a small margin deposit can control a much larger total contract value. Leverage gives the trader the ability to make extraordinary profits and at the same time keep risk capital to a minimum. For example, Forex brokers offer 200 to 1 leverage, which means that a $50 dollar margin deposit would enable a trader to buy or sell $10,000 worth of currencies. Similarly, with $500 dollars, one could trade with $100,000 dollars and so on. But leverage is a double-edged sword. Without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.
* High Liquidity. Because the Forex Market is so humongous, it is also extremely liquid. This means that with a click of a mouse, under normal market conditions, you can instantaneously buy and sell at will. You are never “stuck” in a trade. You can even set your online trading platform to automatically close your position at your desired profit level (limit order), and/or close a trade if a trade is going against you (stop loss order).
* Free “Demo” Accounts, News, Charts, and Analysis. Most online Forex brokers offer free ‘Demo’ accounts to practice trading, along with breaking Forex news and charting services. These are very valuable resources for “poor” traders who would like to hone their trading skills with ‘virtual’ money before opening a live trading account.
* ‘Mini’ Trading: You would think that getting started as a currency trader would cost a lot of money. The fact is, it doesn’t. Online Forex brokers offer “mini” trading accounts with a minimum account deposit of $300. This makes Forex much more accessible to the average individual who doesn’t have a lot of start-up trading capital.
Factors affecting currency trading
See also: Exchange rates
Although exchange rates are affected by many factors, in the end, currency prices are a result of supply and demand forces. The world's currency markets can be viewed as a huge melting pot: in a large and ever-changing mix of current events, supply and demand factors are constantly shifting, and the price of one currency in relation to another shifts accordingly. No other market encompasses (and distills) as much of what is going on in the world at any given time as foreign exchange.
Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions and market psychology.
Although exchange rates are affected by many factors, in the end, currency prices are a result of supply and demand forces. The world's currency markets can be viewed as a huge melting pot: in a large and ever-changing mix of current events, supply and demand factors are constantly shifting, and the price of one currency in relation to another shifts accordingly. No other market encompasses (and distills) as much of what is going on in the world at any given time as foreign exchange.
Supply and demand for any given currency, and thus its value, are not influenced by any single element, but rather by several. These elements generally fall into three categories: economic factors, political conditions and market psychology.
Forex Ratings
Top 10 Currency Traders
% of overall volume, May 2007
Source: Euromoney FX survey[5]
Rank Name % of volume
1 Deutsche Bank 19.30
2 UBS AG 14.85
3 Citi 9.00
4 Royal Bank of Scotland 8.90
5 Barclays Capital 8.80
6 Bank of America 5.29
7 HSBC 4.36
8 Goldman Sachs 4.14
9 JPMorgan 3.33
10 Morgan Stanley 2.86
% of overall volume, May 2007
Source: Euromoney FX survey[5]
Rank Name % of volume
1 Deutsche Bank 19.30
2 UBS AG 14.85
3 Citi 9.00
4 Royal Bank of Scotland 8.90
5 Barclays Capital 8.80
6 Bank of America 5.29
7 HSBC 4.36
8 Goldman Sachs 4.14
9 JPMorgan 3.33
10 Morgan Stanley 2.86
Forex: introduction
Any type of financial instrument that is used to make payments between countries is considered foreign exchange. The list of instruments includes electronic transactions, paper currency, checks, and signed, written orders called bills of exchange. .
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