Top 7 Questions About Currency Trading Answered

May 07 2011| Filed Under » AUD/USD, Carry Trade, EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/USD, Forex Fundamentals, Forex Theory, Forex Trading 101, Forex Trading Strategies, GBP/JPY, GBP/USD,National Futures Association, NZD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY

Although forex is the largest financial market in the world, it is relatively unfamiliar terrain for retail traders. Until the popularization of internet trading a few years ago, FX was primarily the domain of large financial institutions, multinational corporations and secretive hedge funds. But times have changed, and individual investors are hungry for information on this fascinating market. Whether you are an FX novice or just need a refresher course on the basics of currency trading, read on to find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the forex market.

Tutorial: The Ultimate Guide To Forex TradingHow does the forex market differ from other markets?Unlike stocks, futures or options, currency trading does not take place on a regulated exchange. It is not controlled by any central governing body, there are no clearing houses to guarantee the trades and there is no arbitration panel to adjudicate disputes. All members trade with each other based on credit agreements. Essentially, business in the largest, most liquid market in the world depends on nothing more than a metaphorical handshake.

At first glance, this ad-hoc arrangement must seem bewildering to investors who are used to structured exchanges such as the NYSE or CME. (To learn more, see Getting To Know Stock Exchanges.) However, this arrangement works exceedingly well in practice; because participants in FX must both compete and cooperate with each other, self regulation provides very effective control over the market. Furthermore, reputable retail FX dealers in the United States become members of the National Futures Association (NFA), and by doing so they agree to binding arbitration in the event of any dispute. Therefore, it is critical that any retail customer who contemplates trading currencies do so only through an NFA member firm.

The FX market is different from other markets in some other key ways that are sure to raise eyebrows. Think that the EUR/USD is going to spiral downward? Feel free to short the pair at will. There is no uptick rule in FX as there is in stocks. There are also no limits on the size of your position (as there are in futures); so, in theory, you could sell $100 billion worth of currency if you had the capital to do it. If your biggest Japanese client, who also happens to golf with the governor of the Bank of Japan tells you on the golf course that BOJ is planning to raise rates at its next meeting, you could go right ahead and buy as much yen as you like. No one will ever prosecute you for insider trading should your bet pay off. There is no such thing as insider trading in FX; in fact, European economic data, such as German employment figures, are often leaked days before they are officially released.

Before we leave you with the impression that FX is the Wild West of finance, we should note that this is the most liquid and fluid market in the world. It trades 24 hours a day, from 5pm EST Sunday to 4pm EST Friday, and it rarely has any gaps in price. Its sheer size and scope (from Asia to Europe toNorth America) makes the currency market the most accessible market in the world.

Forex Tutorial: Introduction to Currency Trading

The foreign exchange market (forex or FX for short) is one of the most exciting, fast-paced markets around. Until recently, forex trading in the currency market had been the domain of large financial institutions, corporations, central banks, hedge funds and extremely wealthy individuals. The emergence of the internet has changed all of this, and now it is possible for average investors to buy and sell currencies easily with the click of a mouse through online brokerage accounts.

Daily currency fluctuations are usually very small. Most currency pairs move less than one cent per day, representing a less than 1% change in the value of the currency. This makes foreign exchange one of the least volatile financial markets around. Therefore, many currency speculators rely on the availability of enormous leverage to increase the value of potential movements. In the retail forex market, leverage can be as much as 250:1. Higher leverage can be extremely risky, but because of round-the-clock trading and deep liquidity, foreign exchange brokers have been able to make high leverage an industry standard in order to make the movements meaningful for currency traders.

Extreme liquidity and the availability of high leverage have helped to spur the market's rapid growth and made it the ideal place for many traders. Positions can be opened and closed within minutes or can be held for months. Currency prices are based on objective considerations of supply and demandand cannot be manipulated easily because the size of the market does not allow even the largest players, such as central banks, to move prices at will.

The forex market provides plenty of opportunity for investors. However, in order to be successful, a currency trader has to understand the basics behind currency movements.

The goal of this forex tutorial is to provide a foundation for investors or traders who are new to the foreign currency markets. We'll cover the basics of exchange rates, the market's history and the key concepts you need to understand in order to be able to participate in this market. We'll also venture into how to start trading foreign currencies and the different types of strategies that can be employed. 

U.S. Stocks Tumble as S&P 500 Extends Monthly Decline

  retreated, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a nine-week low, as Chinese equities entered a bear market amid concern a cash crunch will hurt the world’s second-largest economy and speculation increased that the U.S. will begin curbing stimulus.

Enlarge image

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on June 21, 2013. Photographer: Timothy Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Enlarge image

The S&P 500 sank 2.1 percent last week, the most since April 19, after the Federal Reserve said it may start paring stimulus measures as soon as September if the economy improves in line with its forecasts. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. slid more than 2.8 percent as banks tumbled. Barrick Gold Corp. led gold producers lower as the precious metal traded near a 2 1/2-year low. Deere & Co. lost 3.2 percent as JPMorgan Chase & Co. recommended selling the shares. Vanguard Health Systems Inc. surged 67 percent after agreeing to be bought by Tenet Healthcare Corp. for about $1.8 billion.

The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 1.7 percent to 1,565.07 at 10:01 a.m. inNew York, the lowest level on a closing basis since April 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 239.03 points, or 1.6 percent, to 14,560.37. Trading in S&P 500 stocks was 33 percent above the 30-day average during this time of day.

“Investors have been shaken by the concept of rising interest rates and a reduction in stimulus from the Federal Reserve, coupled with the uncertainty regarding effectively how robust the Chinese central banking system is,” Ethan Anderson, senior portfolio manager for Rehmann Financial in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said by phone. His firm manages about $1.5 billion. “We found ourselves in a headline-dependent environment, which is difficult for investors to function.”

The CSI 300 Index (SHSZ300) of China’s biggest companies tumbled 6.3 percent, the most since August 2009 and taking its decline from this year’s peak to more than 20 percent. China’s central bank said there’s a reasonable amount of liquidity in the financial system and urged banks to control risks from credit expansion, signaling no relief from a cash squeeze.

CHINA RATES

China’s benchmark money-market rates last week climbed to a record as the central bank refrained from using open-market operations to ease the cash crunch. The rates still fell for a second day today.

The S&P 500 (SPX) sank 2.1 percent last week, the most since April 19, after the Federal Reserve said it may start paring stimulus measures as soon as September if the economy improves in line with its forecasts.

The benchmark index is down 3.9 percent in June, on course for the biggest monthly drop since May 2012. The gauge has declined 6.2 percent since its May 21 high amid speculation the Fed will scale back quantitative easing that helped fuel a rally in stocks worldwide. The index has stillrallied 132 percent from its March 2009 low.

‘GREAT PERFORMANCE’

“We’ve had this great performance in stocks without great economic growth,” Larry Kantor, the New York-based head of research at Barclays Plc, told Anna Edwards on Bloomberg Television. “Those days are over. I suspect over the next couple of months U.S. growth is going to be a little weaker than people are anticipating.”

Treasuries slumped today, pushing the 10-year yield as high as 2.66 percent, a level not seen since August 2011, before data this week that may add to the case for the Fed to slow bond purchases. Reports tomorrow may show U.S. durable-goods orders rose and house pricescontinued to recover, according to Bloomberg surveys of economists.

While U.S. equity volatility reached a six-month high last week, expected stock swings are less than half as much as peaks in the last four years and traders are pricing in little increase for the rest of the year.

VOLATILITY INDEX

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 10 percent to 18.9 for the week. Even after the gauge of options prices on the S&P 500 increased 67 percent since March, it would have to rise 134 percent more to reach its average high of 44 from 2009 to 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. VIX futures expiring in six months trade only 10 percent higher than the index. The gauge jumped 13 percent to 21.45 today.

Financial shares tumbled. Bank of America dropped 3.2 percent to $12.29. Citigroup slipped 2.8 percent to $45.56.

Barrick Gold declined 4.9 percent to $16.06. The precious metal dropped to the lowest since September 2010.

Deere lost 3.2 percent to $79.82 as JPMorgan cut its rating on the world’s largest agricultural-equipment maker to underweight, similar to a sell recommendation, from neutral. Lower crop prices and higher land rent costs may drive profit-per-acre lower, analysts led by Ann Duignanwrote.

Allergan (AGN) Inc. slipped 8.1 percent to $85.15. Deutsche Bank AG downgraded the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment to hold from buy and Leerink Swann LLC trimmed its recommendation to market perform from outperform.

Vanguard Health Systems jumped 67 percent to $20.61. Tenet will pay $21 a share in cash for the Nashville, Tennessee-based hospital operator and will assume $2.5 billion of Vanguard debt, the companies said in a joint statement

How To Trade Forex On News Releases

One of the great advantages of trading currencies is that the forex market is open 24 hours a day (from 5pm EST on Sunday until 4pm EST Friday). Economic data tends to be one of the most important catalysts for short-term movements in any market, but this is particularly true in the currency market, which responds not only to U.S. economic news, but also to news from around the world. With at least eight major currencies available for trading at most currency brokers and more than 17 derivatives of them, there is always some piece of economic data slated for release that traders can use to inform the positions they take. Generally, no less than seven pieces of data are released daily from the eight major currencies or countries that are most closely followed. So for those who choose to trade news, there are plenty of opportunities. Here we look at which economic news releases are released when, which are most relevant to forex (FX) traders, and how traders can act on this market-moving data. 

The Foreign Exchange Market for Beginners

The foreign exchange market or forex market as it is often called is the market in which currencies are traded. Currency Trading is the world’s largest market consisting of almost trillion in daily volume and as investors learn more and become more interested, the market continues to rapidly grow. Not only is the forex market the largest market in the world, but it is also the most liquid, differentiating it from the other markets. In addition, there is no central marketplace for the exchange of currency, but instead the trading is conducted over-the-counter. Unlike the stock market, this decentralization of the market allows traders to choose from a number of different dealers to make trades with and allows for comparison of prices. Typically, the larger a dealer is the better access they have to pricing at the largest banks in the world, and are able to pass that on to their clients. The spot currency market is open twenty-four hours a day, five days a week, with currencies being traded around the world in all of the major financial centers.Learn more about currency trading online.

All trades that take place in the foreign exchange market involve the buying of one currency and the selling of another currency simultaneously. This is because the value of one currency is determined by its comparison to another currency. The first currency of a currency pair is called the “base currency,” while the second currency is called the counter currency. The currency pair shows how much of the counter currency is needed to purchase one unit of the base currency. Currency pairs can be thought of as a single unit that can be bought or sold. When purchasing a currency pair, the base currency is being bought, while the counter currency is being sold. The opposite is true, when the sale of a currency pair takes place. There are four major currency pairs that are traded most often in the foreign exchange market. These include the EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF.

Forex Capital Markets (FXCM) is an online currency trading firm that offers a free demo account to traders who are new and interested in the foreign exchange market. Registering for a demo account allows a new trader to download the online trading platform that is used by the company’s clients trading live accounts and make trades as if they were doing it with real money. The demo account is an excellent way to experiment with the foreign exchange market while learning your way around the trading platform. It allows you to experience every step of currency trading including choosing currency pairs, deciding how much risk to take, tracking the time and dates of placed trades, deciding how long to stay in the trade, and when to exit the trade. It also allows the placing of stop and limit orders on trades.

Information about trading and specifically about how to use the online trading platform can be found on the FXCM webpage. In addition, FXCM offers FREE interactive online seminars that are extremely useful to both new and experienced currency traders. These “educational webinars,” as they are called are run by experienced financial strategists and range in topics from trading specific news events to trading the Euro. In addition to the webinars, FXCM also offers numerous online courses that teach investors how to trade the currency market

How Much Capital Should I Trade Forex With?

Summary:Research shows that the amount of capital in your trading account can affect your profitability. Traders with at least $5,000 of capital tend to utilize more conservative amounts of leverage. Traders should look to use an effective leverage of 10-to1 or less.

In looking at the trading records of tens of thousands of FXCM clients, as well as talking with even more traders daily via live webinars, Twitter, and email, it appears that traders enter the Forex market with a desire to cap their potential for losses on their risk based capital. Therefore, many newer traders choose to start trading forex with a small capital base.

What we have found out through the analysis of thousands of trading accounts is that traders with larger account balances tend to be profitable on a higher percentage of trades. We feel this is a result of the EFFECTIVE LEVERAGEused in the trading account.