In most cases, a pip is equal to .01% of the quote currency, thus, 10,000 pips = 1 unit of currency. In USD, 100 pips = 1 penny, and 10,000 pips = $1. A well known exception is for the Japanese yen (JPY) in which a pip is worth 1% of the yen, because the yen has little value compared to other currencies. Since there are about 120 yen to 1 USD, a pip in USD is close in value to a pip in JPY. (See Currency Quotes; Pips; Bid/Ask Quotes; Cross Currency Quotes for an introduction.) Because the quote currency of a currency pair is the quoted price (hence, the name), the value of the pip is in the quote currency. So, for instance, for EUR/USD, the pip is equal to 0.0001 USD, but for USD/EUR, the pip is equal to 0.0001 Euro. If the conversion rate for Euros to dollars is 1.35, then a Euro pip = 0.000135 dollars.
Converting Profits and Losses in Pips to USD
To calculate your profits and losses in pips to your native currency, you must convert the pip value to your native currency. The following calculations will be shown using USD as an example. When you close a trade, the profit or loss is initially expressed in the pip value of the quoted currency. To determine the total profit or loss, you must multiply the pip difference between the open price and closing price by the number of units of currency traded. This yields the total pip difference between the opening and closing transaction. If the pip value is USD, then the profit or loss is expressed in USD, but if USD is the base currency, then the pip value must be converted to USD, which can be found by dividing the total pip profit or loss by the conversion rate.
Example—Converting Pip Values to USD.
You buy 10,000 Canadian dollars with USD, with conversion rate USD/CAD = 1.100. Subsequently, you sell your Canadian dollars for 1.1200, yielding a profit of 200 pips in Canadian dollars. Because USD is the base currency, you can get the value in USD by dividing the value by the exit price of 1.12. 10,000 CAD x 200 pips = 2,000,000 pips total. Since 2,000,000 pips = 200 Canadian dollars, your profit in USD is 200/1.12 = 178.57 USD.
For a cross pair not involving USD, the pip value must be converted by the rate that was applicable at the time of the closing transaction. To find that rate, you would look at the quote for the USD/pip currency pair, then multiply the pip value by this rate, or if you only have the quote for the pip currency/USD, then you divide by the rate.
Example—Calculating Profits for a Cross Currency Pair
You buy 100,000 units of EUR/JPY = 164.09 and sell when EUR/JPY = 164.10, and USD/JPY = 121.35. Profit in JPY pips = 164.10 – 164.09 = .01 yen = 1 pip (Remember the yen exception: 1 JPY pip = .01 yen.) Total Profit in JPY pips = 1 x 100,000 = 100,000 pips.Total Profit in Yen = 100,000 pips/100 = 1,000 Yen Because you only have the quote for USD/JPY = 121.35, to get profit in USD, you divide by the quote currency’s conversion rate:
Total Profit in USD = 1,000/121.35 = 8.24 USD.
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.
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 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.
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.
When a dealer makes a trade he should forever observe the trade no stuff how long he is untaken to keep the trade on. To observer a trade simply it is best done on time frames higher than those in which he naturally trades. A merchant could see a trade more visibly when he has a bigger perspective. It is easier to dash the joist and resistance levels the further from the modern time skeleton you are trading. The lesser the time entice is, the harder it is to evaluator where a good exit spit is. That is if you want to get more than just a few pips on the trade. A trader who is concentrating only on an abruptly time surround will ignore clothes that are apparent to someone who is looking at the better time frames.
Something that I like to do find the trend on a better time body. Time the opening of the trade on a lesser time build then move back up to a larger time border to overseer the trade. This procedure will help to get more pips out of a trade and still permit the bazaar to move.
