Saturday, January 17, 2009

Forex?

What is it, anyway?The marketThe currency trading (FOREX) market is the biggest and fastest growing market on earth. Its daily turnover is more than 2.5 trillion dollars. The participants in this market are banks, organizations, investors and private individuals, just like you.The goods (merchandise)Markets are places to trade goods, and the same goes with FOREX. The Forex goods are the currencies of various countries. You buy Euro, paying with US dollars, or you sell Japanese Yens for Canadian dollars. That's all.How does one profit in Forex?Obviously, buy cheap and sell for more! The profit potential comes from the fluctuations (changes) in the currency exchange market.The nice thing about the FOREX market, is that regular daily fluctuations, say - around 1%, are multiplied by 100! .
How risky is Forex trading?You cannot lose more than your "margin" (your initial investment)! You may profit unlimited amounts, but you never lose more than what you initially risked. However, risk only what you can afford and is not vital for your well-being.How do I monitor my Forex trading?Online, from anywhere, anytime. You have full control to monitor status, check scenarios, change some terms in the deal, or close it.
Foreign Exchange Market
An informal network of trading relationships between the world's major banks and other market participants, sometimes referred to as the 'interbank' market. The foreign exchange market has no central clearinghouse or exchange, and is considered an over-the-counter (OTC) market.
Spot Market
Market for buying and selling currencies usually for settlement within two business days (the value date). USD/CAD = 1 day.
Rollover
The process whereby the settlement of a transaction is rolled forward to the next value date with the cost of this process being based on the interest rate differential between two currencies. Rollover typically occurs at 5PM EST/10PM GMT. For example, if you open a position on Monday, the settlement date will be Wednesday, however, if you hold this position past rollover cutoff on Monday, the new value date will be Thursday. Most brokers will automatically roll over your open positions, allowing you to hold a position for an indefinite period of time. Depending on your broker's rollover policy, if you are holding a currency with a higher rate of interest in the pair, you will earn credits, however if you are holding a currency with a lower rate of interest in the pair, you will pay it. Current central bank interest rates.
Exchange Rate
The value of one currency expressed in terms of another. For example, if the EUR/USD exchange rate is 1.3200, 1 Euro is worth US$1.3200.

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