Posts Tagged ‘base currency’

A Beginners Guide To The Forex Markets

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

The main function of the foreign exchange market is to support the trading of assorted global currencies. Although the majority of trades concern only a small number of currencies, including the U.S. Dollar, Yen, Euro, Swiss Franc, Pound Sterling, Australian Dollar, and Canadian Dollar, many other different types of currency are exchanged on a smaller scale. Over 90% of all exchanges on the forex markets involve the U.S. Dollar.

The forex market is, despite the popular impression, a composite of several contrasting markets, each of which sustains its own rules and regulations, with no one centred market in which all currency trading takes place. Because of the different time zones the major markets, which are located in the U.S., London, and Tokyo, open during different hours. When the New York market opens, and while the European markets are still operating, is when trading is heaviest and nearly two thirds of the trading action happens during this convergence.

An Individual exchange rate for a given currency does not subsist since there is no centred market. Whilst they are normally reasonably close to each other, the bid and ask rates for a currency can deviate among dissimilar geographic markets and market makers because of the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of the markets.

Each currency has an international currency code which is displayed by trio of letters and since the price of a currency must be given in relation to another currency, it is expressed in the form XXX/YYY. The price of Euros in U.S. Dollars is written as EUR/USD, for example. The strongest currency when the pair was created is generally the first in the pair and known as the base currency, and the other currency is called the counter currency. Typically rounded to the nearest ten-thousandth of a unit the actual prices themselves are displayed in decimal form.

Approximately $1.9 trillion changes hands every day in the forex markets and it constitutes the biggest marketplace in the world. With nearly 80% of trades lasting less than a week forex trading is largely a speculative, short-term market. With the many traders encompassing the globe and the very high daily turnover it is an exceedingly liquid market, much more so than equities.

Nearly three quarters of total dealing volume, however, involves the top ten most active traders. Known as the interbank market and made up of international banks, the trading activity that takes place between them supply the market with bid and ask prices that are far tighter than retail clients can anticipate.

Forex futures contracts, that are derivative instruments that are also actively traded was inaugurated in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and are responsible for approximately seven percent of the total foreign exchange volume. Another popular hedging strategy that has also taken hold is foreign exchange options. Investors often buy these derivatives, which are contracts to purchase currency at a certain price on a future date, to counterbalance the decline in the price of a currency and any possible losses they might endure.

An additional means traders are capable of mitigating risk is through an exchange, in which both parties agree to switch one currency for another for a set period of time, and will then reverse the transaction after the period runs out.

The foreign exchange market is a fast-paced, international currency exchange that is without competition amongst financial markets.

International companies, prominent banks and financial organisations will ensure its huge popularity continues and its growth is guaranteed into the future.

You can access more information about forex trading at http://www.forex-revealed.info, a popular website that provides tips and advice to achieve success in the forex market.

What Is The Foreign Currency Market And How To Trade The Forex Market?

Friday, October 31st, 2008

First of all, let me tell you what foreign currency market or simply, forex market, is. Most of the people heard about the trade market and suppose the you know what’s implied. You exchange the goods for the money. The same is forex market, it is trading one foreign currency for another one.You won’t have to pay any commission based on buying or selling. Practically, you sell one currency to buy another currency.Your profit is based on the difference of the value between the currencies. Simply, the foreign exchange is the trading related to currency conversion.

Forex market is the biggest market nowadays, with a huge value of $3 trillion exchanged every day and most important, one of the most profitable of all. Until recently,better say 1998, was impossible for ordinary people to enter in this huge market. Why? Simply because they don’t have the systems, informations, and know-how as the large banks, governments, big financial institutions and multinationals companies have.However, in the last ten years the means of communications have changed, and, especially with the development of internet, now many people find it easy to trade forex from their home and take a share of profits from this market.This is possible as foreign currency market is trading 24/7 hour/day, not like the stock market which is open only the working hours.

So, how exactly does the forex market work? Always, foreign exchange quote comes in pairs, something like EUR/USD.The first part represents the base currency, and the second is the counter currency.Practically, you want to change Euro currency for US Dollars.You can purchase this quote when you expect that the Euro will increase, hence you want to make a profit bigger than the initial invested sum.

How can average Joe can enter this market? Well, there are many brokers out there.However, you must carefully choose it.The best advise is to choose one which has been on the market for quite a long time. And, with the internet, the online currency conversion has become even more easier.But for the beginners and intermediate levels I would recommend start with some automated forex trading systems witch can minimize your losses while learn more about forex trading market, and, in the meantime you could develop and test your own trading system.

If you would like to find out more resources and informations about forex currency market and automated forex systems you can visit my website http://www.squidoo.com/forex-assasin-review

The Introduction to Forex Trading Market

Thursday, October 30th, 2008

An introduction to Forex trading must first start with the understanding that Forex is the world’s largest and most liquid trading market and often times considered as the best home business anyone can ever venture into even with the much talked about risks of Forex trading. But trading Forex without understanding what exactly Forex is all about is where majority of the risk falls into. It is no secret that on daily basis more and more investors are shifting from stocks and other financial vehicles such as bonds and commodities to the all-electronic world of Forex trading for income and profit because of its numerous benefits & advantages over traditional trading vehicles such as those mentioned above.

The foreign exchange which is often times referred to as Forex and it is not traded from a central exchange as is the case with stocks. The Forex market is traded over-the-counter (OTC), or the Interbank market. The interbank market is the network of banks which are linked electronically 24 hours and the trade of foreign currency is conducted through these banks.

As an investor in the Forex market what you are doing in essence is simultaneously exchanging on countries currency for another. A good illustration is as follows: GBP/USD -The first currency (in this example, the GBP) is referred to as the base currency and the second (USD) as the counter or quote currency. So if you buy the GBP you are simultaneously selling the USD as shown in the pair above.

Just as on any other market, Forex trading though with an exclusively high potential profitability is essentially risky as well. It is possible to make a living from trading the Forex market, but this must be follow after a certain training including a familiarization with the structure and kinds of currency pairs, the principles of currencies price formation, the factors affecting prices alterations and trading risks levels. Mastering techniques and strategies on how to use technical and fundamental analysis to make your trading decision is a road you definitely can not avoid.

After acquiring the basic knowledge of Forex trading, the next step would be to open a demo trading account and begin to put all you have learned into practice. Only when you have built a strategy that generates consistent profit should you move to a live account.

Karen Fairham regularly contributes informative articles to web sites on Forex trading and stock trading. To read more on forex trading strategies to help you maximise your profit visit: http://www.forexxtrader.blogspot.com

Forex Currency Trading Systems - The Fibs Ain’t No Lie - A Systems Approach to Trading the Forex

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

When it comes to trading the Forex having a trading system is the number one key to success. Making currency trades as “mechanical” as possible is the only way to sanely trade a market where the traders fear and greed are always in play.

This is where a trading system shines. Having a system that says when “A” happens you automatically execute trade “B.” This kind of system has a great effect at removing much of our emotional trading.

How The Systems Work

As you probably know, Forex trading is based on the relationship of one currency to another - called pairs. And these pairs are used to create a trade. For instance you believe that the Euro is due to rise against the Dollar - or said another way - you believe the Euro is strong and the US Dollar is weak. Based on this assumption you would expect to see the Euro rise in value over the dollar and if it did you would profit.

So the pair you would be trading is the EUR/USD pair where the first currency listed, in this case the Euro is called the base currency. The second, in this case the US Dollar, is called the counter or quote currency. Each pair is quoted with a single number that expresses the relationship between the pairs. So if a quote of 1.4525 were quoted that would mean that it would take 1.4525 Dollars to exchange for a single Euro.

The Fibs

Fibonacci, often called the fibs, are a method of gaining some measure of predictive pricing in the Forex markets. They are based on the famed number sequence developed by a mathematician named, you guessed it, Fibonacci. The sequence that he developed is a sum where each of the two preceding numbers are added to form the next in the sequence. So a sequence starting from the number 1 would look like 1,1,2,3,5,8…and so on.

The Forex is especially sensitive to the fibs. If you spend any time with your currency charts you will notice how prices turn at or near Fibonacci numbers.

Now of course then numbers are not as neat and clean as 1,1,2,3,5 etc. In the currencies they look more like. .236, .50, .382, .618, etc., Using this type of number sequence you will find that you can use the Fibs as a price point to enter or exit a trading position. They offer a seasoned trader a certain measure of predictive capability.

They can be used in you trading system as the response to other market signals so if you get a market signal that tells you to enter the market long the Euro, then your mechanical response would be to wait until the prices broke through the next Fibonacci resistance line and then enter your position. Waiting for this type of movement would help prove that the price was on the rise.

Of course this is assuming that you expect the price of the Euro to go up, and that is not the only way the market could move, but this is the beauty of the Forex, you can trade the market up or down. It lets you make money in both directions.

For more Forex currency trading systems visit http://ForexTradingRobot.info a site dedicated to trading systems for seasoned traders and beginners alike.

Things To Know To Deal With Foreign Currency Exchange

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

The main purpose of the foreign currency exchange market is to make money but it is different from other equity markets. There are various technical terminologies and strategies a trader must know to deal with currency exchange. This article will give an insight into the normal operations in the foreign currency exchange market.

In the Currency Exchange market the commodity that is traded is the foreign currency. These foreign currencies are always priced in pairs. The value of one unit of a foreign currency is always expressed in terms of another foreign currency. Thus all trades incorporate the purchase and sale of two foreign currencies at the same time. You have to buy a currency only when you expect the value of that currency to increase in the future. When it increases in value, you have to purchase the currencies you have bought to make your profit. When you buy or sell a currency then the trade is called open trade or in open position and can be closed only when you sell or buy an equivalent amount of currency.

You must also understand how the currencies are quoted in the currency exchange market. They are always quoted in pairs as USD/JPY. The first currency is the base currency and the second one is the quote currency. The quote value depends on the currency conversion rates between the two currencies under consideration. Mostly the USD will be used as based currency but sometimes euro, pound sterling is also used.

The profit of the broker depends on the bid and the ask price. The bid is the price the broker is ready to pay to buy base currency for exchanging the quote currency. The ask is the price the broker is ready to sell the base currency for exchanging the quote currency. The difference between these two prices is called the spread which determines the profit or loss of the trade.

The bid and ask prices are quoted in five figures. The spread is measured in pip which is defined as the smallest change in price based on the current conversion rates of the currencies under consideration. For USD/JPY if the bid price is 136.50 and ask price is 136.55 then spread is 5 pips and you have to recover the five pips from your profit.

Margin used in the foreign currency exchange terminology refers to the deposit that a trader makes to his account to cover any losses expected in the future. A high degree of leverage is supplied by the brokers to traders for currency exchange. The ratio is 100:1 normally. The brokerage system will calculate the funds required for the current trade and will check for the availability of margin before executing any trade.

You have to understand the characteristics of foreign currency exchange market before investing your money. This market has extreme liquidity and always alive giving you wide spread opportunities to make profits. As there is so much potential for gain, there is potential for great loss too. You have to spend your time and effort and watch the market and trade at the right time to reap the profit.

Mansi Aggarwal Highly Recommends that you visit http://www.TorFx.Com for more information on Foreign Exchange And Foreign Currency.

How To Accurately Calculate Your Profits (and Losses) In Your Forex Trades

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Most forex brokers that you will use online have developed their trading platforms so that they calculate your profits/losses for you. So why am I writing this article?

Well, it’s pretty simple really.

If you are serious about being a successful forex trader you need to understand the mathematics behind your trades. Plus it makes sure that you can keep tabs on your forex broker, so you can make sure they are not ‘cooking the books’.

As a forex trader, I’d expect you to be numerate, so it should be pretty easy for you to calculate your profits and losses. But I can understand if you are new to forex trading it might not be initially self-explanatory.

The 2 formulae you need to commit to memory.

(In this calculation I’m assuming you are trading in USD.)

When the US Dollar is the second currency (the quote currency), the formula to use is:

1 - Profit is equal to: the price change in PIPs multiplied by the units traded. (e.g. profit = pips price change x traded units)

Secondly if the US Dollar is the first currency in the pair (base currency), the formula to use is:

2 - Profit is equal to: the change in price in PIPs multiplied by the units traded divided by the exit price. e.g. profit = price change in pips x units traded / exit price

So to ‘hammer this home’ and make sure you really understand this process I want to give you a few examples.

To start with we’ll use an example where the US dollar is the second currency, the quote currency, and to make things easy we’re going to use a 1% broker margin. So you can trade up to 100,000 USD with only 1000 USD.

OK?

Great. We’ll take the EUR/USD which for example is trading at 1.5618/9. Your analysis has led you to predict that the Euro is going to rise in value against the dollar so you start a trade to buy more Euros and sell US Dollars.

So you end up buying $100,000 worth of units at a price of 1.5619 - remembering that you are buying so you have to buy at the ask price - this is the last/second number in the quote (so you buy at the ask price of 1.5619 not 1.5618).

Your predictions turn out to be correct. Congratulations, the price rise to 1.5635/6. So you start another trade to sell the Euros and buy USDs. For this trade you use the bid price as you are selling, which is 1.5635.

So here’s where your maths comes in.

As you purchased the Euros at 1.5619 and then sold at 1.5635 your profit is 16 pips, or 0.0016. So before that makes any sense we need to convert that into proper money. So this is where we use our formulae.

Profits = 0.0016 (price change in pips) x 100,000 (units traded) = $160.00

If you are trading standard sized lots of a currency pair as we did above of 100,000, in which you use the USD as the quote currency, a quick rule to remember is that a pip is equal to c.$10. Hence 16 pips = $160.

So let’s take another quick example, but this time we’ll use the USD as the base currency.

You place a buy order for 100,000 units of USD/JPY at 103.20. The price increases and you sell at 103.33. You just made a quick 13 pips. So to calculate your profit in your second formula:

Profit = .13 (pips) x 100,000 (units traded) / 103.33 (exit price) = $110.78

Easy huh?

Do you make these forex trading mistakes? Don’t lose your shirt. Discover how to trade forex for big profits. Visit: http://realforexsecrets.com

Forex Trading Education - Understanding the Lingo - Part 2

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Welcome to part 2 of “Understanding the Lingo”; this is the final part I promise. I’ve got about 4 more terms to explain and then you’re ready to speak basic Forex language. The ladies love it… well, not so much but play along. Let’s get into it.

The bid price is the market buying price; the rate at which the market is prepared to buy a specific currency pair in the Forex market. What this means is the trader can sell the base currency. Like in the quote GBP/USD 1.9622/15 the bid price would be 1.9622; this means you can sell 1 GBP for 1.9622 USD. Not too complex, really.

The ask price is basically the opposite of the bid price; it’s the rate at which the market is prepared to sell a specific currency in the Forex market. This means, you guessed it, the price at which you can buy the base currency! Sometimes this is also called the offer price. Since examples are always nice let’s say the quote is EUR/USD 1.5448/15, this means you can buy 1 EUR for 1.5448 USD.

Next up we have the spread; sounds tasty. Basically it’s the difference between the bid and ask price. Typically when verbally referring to this they ditch some digits; like the USD/JPY rate may be 108.05/108.09 they would ditch the first three digits and quote it as “05/09″. See man this stuff really isn’t hard to understand.

Cross currency is literally any pair that doesn’t involve the USD. These pairs typically have chaotic price behavior because the trader has basically initiated two USD trades. Huh? Hold on to your hat man, this is going to blow your mind. Say you initiated a buy of EUR/GBP. It’s equal to buying a EUR/USD pair and selling a GBP/USD.

For reviews of the top three Forex trading systems, including the formerly-private-now-public Forex Funnel, click here: http://forex-funnel.the-perfect-solution.com

Forex Currency Trading - Trade Currency in the Largest Financial Market

Monday, October 13th, 2008

Forex currency trading is carried out all across the world and is the largest financial market in the world. The major players in the forex market are the central banks of the country, major commercial banks such as Citibank and Bank of America etc, multinational corporations. The major portion of the trading is speculative trading while only 5% of the trading is for correcting the currency. The daily volume of the trade is worth US$3.2 trillion.

Though forex currency trading can be done in any foreign exchange, 85% of the trade is done in the major currencies. The major currencies are US Dollar, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, The British Pound, The Euro, Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc. The Us Dollar accounts for nearly 28% of the total forex market.

OTC market which is operational 24 hours a day

It’s an OTC market or an over the counter market where forex currency trading is done in pairs. This means that USD would be sold to buy Japanese Yen or Swiss Francs would be bought and Euros sold consecutively. The forex market has no centralized exchange and is solely conducted through the phone and the electronic medium including the internet.

It’s a 24 hour market and the major centers of trade are Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Frankfurt and New York. Investors will usually react to the changes and the fluctuations in the forex market immediately unlike the stock and the commodity markets. The changes are shown on the screen every second. Deals are done on a second to second basis.

Forex currency trading is always done in pairs and the spread is the profit

The forex trading quotes are also given in pairs and the bid and the ask rates are always mentioned together. In the pair USD/JPY, USD is the base currency. The forex currency trading that happens in non USD pairs is known as cross currency trading. The fundamental and the technical for trading in each currency pair are different.

The quote for USD/JPY will always be given as 110.3456/110.3450. This means that 1USD can be sold for 110.3456 JPY and 110.3450 JPY would be required to purchase 1USD. In forex currency trading the difference between the bid and the ask rates is the spread or the profit that the forex trader will make.

For more tips and tricks on how you can make large amounts of money by trading forex, visit our Forex Software Review site where we show you the newest and hottest Forex software on the market including our Forex Tracer Review.

Brushing Up Some Basics Regarding Foreign Exchange

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Because you have to change your money into the currency of the country you wish to make a purchase of the house or whatever, it is prudent to know something about foreign currency exchange.

It is also important to make sure when you are ready to exchange your currency that you chose the best quote regarding the rates of exchange, as this can make a big difference.

There are a number of foreign currency exchange companies that will quote you much better prices than the high street banks, so look around.

We often hear about a currency pair. This describes two different currencies. The first mentioned, is the base currency. The second of the two currencies is the counter or quote currency.

Thus, in an example quote of EUR / USD 1.59 it means that for 1 EUR you have to give 1.59 USD

Since currencies move up or down all the time, the position can change and a EUR / USD quote may alter to EUR / USD 1.5910 meaning that the Euro went up in value. But, if for instance EUR / USD went to 1.5890 it would mean, that the dollar went up in value.

There are many currencies being traded, but the most traded ones are called Majors.
These are EUR / USD, GBP / USD, USD / JPY, USD / CAD, USD / CHF, AUD / USD

Pairs, where the euro is involved, are known as Euro Crosses. A currency pair where the USD is not included is called Cross Rates.

The bid price is the one at which the broker is prepared to buy, and the offer or asking price, is the one the broker is prepared to sell at.

Currency deposits are usually moved from one bank to the other by the use of the electronic transfer system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication) SWIFT for short. This is a very fast and simple way to make the transfer.

Foreign Exchange is often known as Forex or FX.

Bull Market is a period of time when prices are seen to be rising.

Bear Market is a period of time when prices are seen to be falling.

Market Rate is an up to date quote for a currency pair.

Cable is a slang expression for Sterling / US dollar exchange rate.

It is as well to remember that the foreign exchange market is basically slotted in two levels. One is the retail level and the other is the wholesale level.

On the retail side, the smaller agents buy and sell foreign exchange taking the reading from the reference rates. These are adjusted constantly as events unfold in the market.

The wholesale level is an informal network of hundreds of brokerage companies and banks, who deal between themselves as well as very large corporations. It is this trade which is the one, when the newspapers make a reference to the foreign exchange.

These days, people are faced with several permutations. On one hand, they are watching the position of Sterling which has been under pressure lately for many reasons. They are also watching the prices of houses in the UK, and getting nervous
noting they depreciate more and more. This of course, makes them think it may be worth to buy abroad and sell in the UK before the prices do start to fall further.

On the other hand, prices of property abroad in some cases are also falling, but selling now would mean that with the Sterling depreciation, they could get a good exchange rate and eventually buy a house in the UK, especially if the prices get lower and lower.

But then of course, there is the other way of looking at it. For instance, the Euro might depreciate in due course versus the USD, and might push Sterling higher in relation to the Euro. It needs thinking about. One way or the other, it opens up possibilities of making money especially if catching things right.

Paul Dubsky is director of Foreign Currency Exchange & Transfers Ltd. The company is focused on being able to offer really friendly currency exchange rates. We believe we are the only Foreign Currency Exchange company which offers special rates to Senior Citizens.

Learn to Trade Forex - Basics Before You Trade in Forex

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

Should you want to learn to trade forex here are some of the basics you should know. Currency or forex markets are the biggest financial markets. Daily the volumes of the market are $3 trillion. That’s a whole lot of trades been done everyday. Since its one of the most lucrative markets, one can learn to trade forex Forex is traded in currency pairs. This means that Euros are bought and simultaneously British pounds are sold or Dollars are sold and simultaneously Japanese Yen are bought and so on. There are six major currencies that constitute 85% of the market share and are known as majors. These are the US, Canadian and Australian dollars, Euro, Japanese Yen and the British Pound. The Swiss Franc is also heavily traded. All other currencies are known as minors.

Buying and selling the currencies

Currencies are always traded like EUR/USD or JPY/USD and so on. In EUR/USD, EUR is the base currency. Rates are quoted as Bid/Ask rate. The “Bid” rate is the rate at which the base currency can be sold and equivalent other currency can be bought. While the “ask” rate is the rate at which the Base currency can be bought and equivalent other currency bought. The difference between the bid and the ask rate is the spread or the profit that the forex trader can make.

No central market where the trade is done

Forex currency market is real time market where the value of the forex is changing every second. A Forex market has no physical limitations and is conducted over the internet and through the phone. Unlike the stock exchange, the forex market has no central exchange. All forex deals are conducted through the forex trading software and that is why it can indeed be easy to learn to trade forex like the trading it can all be done online.

Using forex signals

Forex trade is conducted through the forex signals that are sent by major financial institutions and global banks. To access the forex signals, forex traders need to subscribe to the alerts. Te forex signals are sent to the trader through the email or directly to their phones. These are short text messages that tell the forex trader whether to buy sell or hold the currency. These signals are valid only for a short span of time, about 1 hour. The forex markets change continuously, the signals also change accordingly.

Those who don’t want to be stuck behind the computer while conducting forex trade also conduct the forex trade through robot forex trade software, were the robot will automatically buy and sell orders according to the criteria fixed by the customers.

If you would like to learn to trade forex then visit our site below for some of the best forex software around and more information on how you can start to earn money by trading in forex.

For more tips and tricks on how you can make large amounts of money by trading forex, visit our Forex Software Review site where we show you the newest and hottest Forex software on the market including our Forex Tracer Review.