Forex Signals

There are certain features that make forex trading extremely appealing to individual traders as well as to other financial institutions and banks. These are:

• The market is open for 24 hours and for 5½ days in a week.
• It offers highest liquidity with ease of transaction with almost all major currencies of the world.
• Widespread volatile presenting huge profit opportunities.
• Can potentially cover risk exposures with various standalone instruments.
• You earn profit from rates going up as well as down.
• Good leverage with low margin requirements present high profit potential.
• Various options available for zero-commission trading.

How Price is Quoted

In forex trading , currency prices are always quoted in pairs. For example, on a particular date, the rate of EUR/USD is 1.0856 and if you buy 1000 Euros on that particular date, you will have to pay 1085.60 U.S. dollars. But, at a later date if this rate becomes 1.2082, which implies that the value of euro increased in relation to the USD, you can sell 1000 Euros and will receive 1208.20 dollars.

Therefore, you make a net profit of $122.60. So, as an investor, your aim should be to buy currencies at low price and sell those in future in higher prices. If you buy or sell a currency but do not sell or buy back the equivalent amount, it would be referred as open trade or open position.

Major Currencies Traded in Forex

In Forex trading, most of the currencies are traded against USD. The other prominent currencies are Euro or EUR, the Japanese yen or JPY, the British pound sterling or GBP, and Swiss franc or CHF. These five currencies are known as the Majors. The pairs are quoted like USD/EUR or CHF/JPY, where the first one is referred to as the base and the second as the counter or quote currency. The value of the base currency is always 1. All trading is done with currency pairs.

Pips and Spreads

Prices in Forex are quoted to the fourth decimal point (leaving JPY, which is quoted till second decimal point) and in pips or percentage in point. It is the smallest price increment and one pip is equal to 0.0001. When the bid for EUR/USD is 1.0856 and offered rate is 1.0859, it has a spread of 3 pips. Spread, in simple terms, is the difference between the bid and the ask price. The forex market is mainly operated by the brokers who do not charge a commission for their services. And, it is the spread with which they make their profit. For investors, therefore, the lower the spreads the more saving is made.

Margin

Margin is the minimum security that ensures that the investor can pay back the amount in case of losses. It is a deposit that covers any future currency trading losses. With margin, you can hold larger positions than you have in your account.

Leverage

The concept of leverage is also quite common in forex trading, which is the ratio of total available capital to actual capital. If, for example, the leverage is said to be 200:1, it means the Forex broker will lend you $200 for every $1 of your actual capital investment. Though leverage is very important for your trading, higher leverage exposes your investment to higher risks.

Common Methods of Forex Trading

There are three methods for common investors to trade in forex market. They are through the spot market, the forwards and futures market, and the options.

• Spot is the simple currency exchange processes. Here, the settlement date is the second business day after the day the deal or trade is struck.
• Forward transaction is the process where the deal is for more than two days. Future is a type of forward contract, which has fixed currency amounts as well as fixed maturity dates. These are traded in future exchanges and not through general foreign exchange market.
• Options is the process in which fixed currency transactions are carried out with mentioning some specific future date.

Risk Factors in Forex Trading

Although forex trading is extremely lucrative, it has several risk factors involved. Those are risks involving currency exchange rate, interest rate, and risks with credit and country. The average lifespan of a typical trade varies from 2 to 7 days. There are technical and fundamental indicators, which are to be consulted to decide the entry, exit, and other decisions, like order placement etc. You should have solid risk management features and disciplined trading strategies to earn profit in forex trading without risking your investment.

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