A mini lot is 10, worth of currency. A mini lot is 0. A micro lot is worth of currency. A micro lot is 0. Most brokers allow you to trade in any of these lot sizes. If your account is under several thousand dollars, then you definitely want a broker that will allow you to trade micro lots. Two of my preferred brokers for non-US residents are FXOpen.

I also like VantageFX, but they no longer accept Canadian or US clients. I am also testing out FXCC, and like it for the small spreads and no commissions. The pip value of certain pairs fluctuates as the rate of the pair changes. This means drastic changes in the rate of a currency pair will greatly affect the pip value, which must be considered when calculating risk and ultimately position size the quantity you choose to buy or sell.

For other pairs, the pip value will always stay the same. Same goes for any other account currency. If YOUR account currency is listed second, then the pip value for that currency is 0. Check out the Definitive Guide on Forex Pip Values for a full explanation of calculating pip values for all account types and pairs.

And the easiest way to calculate pip values is to use a pip value calculator like the one at MyFxBook. Fill in your account currency type of currency you deposited , how much you want to trade just input 1, since the list shows the pip value for micro, mini, and standard lots , and the list fills in with the pip values for all the pairs. Pip values are important because it is a required element of our position sizing formula how much currency we decide to trade as pip values affect our risk and profit potential on a trade.

The forex market is open 24 hours a day from 5 PM EST Sunday to 5 PM EST on Friday. There are many opportunities to trade throughout the day, yet not all strategies will work at all times of the day. The chart below shows when various markets are open throughout the day in different parts of the world, based on the hour clock. To see when markets are open based on your own time zone, go to ForexMarketHours. Daylight Savings may affect these hours in your area at certain times of the year.

The markets shown in the figure above are high-impact markets. When these markets are open it greatly affects the currency pairs associated with them. Near 5 pm EST each day New York close spreads tend to widen considerably. Take this into account when holding positions through this period.

The spreads can get very wide heading into a weekend around this time, and when markets re-open the following week. For more on how to navigate this time of day, see Hold Forex Trades Through the Weekend, or Close Them?

Forex market prices react significantly to planned economic news releases and surprise economic events as well. Economic news is released at scheduled times throughout the week. Forex brokers often provide a news feed that alerts you when news is coming out.

com that shows scheduled economic events in all the major currencies. Be sure to adjust the time zone. I like this calendar because if you have a free account, you can adjust the Filters to see only the countries you are interested in, and the expected impact of the news. I only care about high-impact news, so I have it set so those are the only ones that show up for the countries I have selected. Stop day trading at least two minutes before the high-impact news event. After the high-impact news is released wait a minute or so before day trading again.

This gives the market time to choose its direction based on the news, and we avoid getting caught in wild price swings which could cause significant losses. If you are swing trading, decide whether you will exit your position before high-impact news is released. If the price is close to the stop loss, exiting may be prudent as the news can cause price gaps where the price jumps through the stop loss order and we end up taking a larger loss than expected this is why we also exit day trades prior to major news.

A stop loss is an order that gets us out of a trade at a pre-determined price. Leverage is what makes the forex market attractive. The price moves of currencies are typically quite small, compared to stocks for example.

So leverage is what makes trading those small percentage moves worthwhile. Leverage is what allows me to make a couple of percent or more a day while day trading, even though the actual movements I am trading are a fraction of that.

Leverage is borrowing money and adding it to your own so potential profits are increased. While no one is likely to borrow money to increase losses, this also occurs. All transactions are magnified, both good and bad, when leverage is employed. You doubled your original investment by borrowing and making money on the larger amount. The forex market allows you to do this. FX forex brokers commonly give from up to leverage. This is beginning to change due to stricter regulation.

For instance, in the US traders are limited to leverage, which is still more than most traders will need. Other countries have also followed suit, and some have even restricted leverage to or less. This is your good faith assurance of the trade, and as long as you maintain in unused capital in your account that trade can stay open and of course you can exit at any time you wish, whether with a profit or a loss.

If you take too large of a position using leverage, and the market moves quickly against you, you could lose more money than you have in the account.

If the currency does indeed increase in value, they will close their trade with a gain. However, if the currency decreases in value, then the trader will incure a loss. When you trade forex on a platform you are trading it as an Over the Counter OTC transactions.

You only take the resulting profit or in some cases loss. At this rate, it dwarfs even the major stock markets such as the NYSE, London Stock Exchange, and Tokyo Stock Exchange combined! The exchange rate is one of the most important indicators of a countries economic well-being. A high rate means they can import or buy goods and services easily, whereas a low rate means they can sell or export easily. The importance and weight of any one of the below factors may shift and should be considered in combination.

A higher rate of interest brings in foreign investment raising the exchange rate and vice versa. Trade — The ratio of export vs import prices leads to the balance of payments. Political stability — foreign investors look for stable countries to invest in. This leads to greater demand for their currency. easyMarkets has been serving its customers since From the very beginning we have strived to offer our clients the most innovative products, tools and services.

easyMarkets innovative and intuitive app allows you to trade on any iOS or Android device, giving you access to markets anywhere, anytime. Open an account.

LIVE TRADING Sign Up. Already have an account? By signing up you confirm you are over 18 years of age. You further declare that you have read, understood and accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Based on your selection, you will register for an account with EF Worldwide Ltd , which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles License Number SD EF Worldwide Ltd falls outside the UK regulatory framework and is not in scope of among others the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive MiFID II.

In addition, there is no provision for an investor compensation scheme. Before you proceed, please confirm that the decision was made independently and at your own exclusive initiative and that no solicitation or recommendation has been made by easyMarkets or any other entity within the group.

Do you want a Live trading account? DEMO TRADING Sign Up. Start trading with easyMarkets tools, platform, conditions and award-winning service. Test your skills, knowledge and abilities risk free with easyMarkets demo account. A verification email has been sent to. Forgot Password? The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency in this example, the euro , and the currency on the right-hand side is the quote currency in this example, the US dollar.

Looking at this currency notation above, we can see that 1 unit of the base currency 1 euro is equal to 1.

In the example above, the rate tells us that you'll receive 1. A trader will open a buy or long position if they believe that the value of a specific base currency will increase.

A trader would open a sell or short position if they believe that the value of a specific base currency will decrease. The tables below list both the GMT and EST trading times for the FX markets. Trading sessions are according to GMT Greenwich Mean Time :. Find out more about how to get started with a live trading account.

Forex FX refers to the global electronic marketplace for trading international currencies and currency derivatives. It has no central physical location, yet the forex market is the largest, most liquid market in the world by trading volume, with trillions of dollars changing hands every day.

Most of the trading is done through banks, brokers, and financial institutions. The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, except for holidays.

The forex market is open on many holidays on which stock markets are closed, though the trading volume may be lower. Its name, forex, is a portmanteau of foreign and exchange. It's often abbreviated as fx. Forex exists so that large amounts of one currency can be exchanged for the equivalent value in another currency at the current market rate.

Some of these trades occur because financial institutions, companies, or individuals have a business need to exchange one currency for another. For example, an American company may trade U.

dollars for Japanese yen in order to pay for merchandise that has been ordered from Japan and is payable in yen. A great deal of forex trade exists to accommodate speculation on the direction of currency values.

Traders profit from the price movement of a particular pair of currencies. These represent the U. dollar USD versus the Canadian dollar CAD , the Euro EUR versus the USD, and the USD versus the Japanese Yen JPY. There will also be a price associated with each pair, such as 1. If the price increases to 1. The USD has increased in value the CAD has decreased as it now costs more CAD to buy one USD.

In the forex market, currencies trade in lots called micro, mini, and standard lots. A micro lot is 1, units of a given currency, a mini lot is 10,, and a standard lot is , When trading in the electronic forex market, trades take place in blocks of currency, and they can be traded in any volume desired, within the limits allowed by the individual trading account balance.

For example, you can trade seven micro lots 7, or three mini lots 30, , or 75 standard lots 7,, The forex market is unique for several reasons, the main one being its size. Trading volume is generally very large. This exceeds global equities stocks trading volumes by roughly 25 times. The largest foreign exchange markets are located in major global financial centers including London, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, in major financial centers across the globe. This means that you can buy or sell currencies at virtually any hour. In the past, forex trading was largely limited to governments, large companies, and hedge funds. Now, anyone can trade on forex. Many investment firms, banks, and retail brokers allow individuals to open accounts and trade currencies. When trading in the forex market, you're buying or selling the currency of a particular country, relative to another currency.

But there's no physical exchange of money from one party to another as at a foreign exchange kiosk. In the world of electronic markets, traders are usually taking a position in a specific currency with the hope that there will be some upward movement and strength in the currency they're buying or weakness if they're selling so that they can make a profit. A currency is always traded relative to another currency. If you sell a currency, you are buying another, and if you buy a currency you are selling another.

The profit is made on the difference between your transaction prices. A spot market deal is for immediate delivery, which is defined as two business days for most currency pairs. The business day excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays in either currency of the traded pair.

During the Christmas and Easter season, some spot trades can take as long as six days to settle. Funds are exchanged on the settlement date , not the transaction date. The U. dollar is the most actively traded currency. The euro is the most actively traded counter currency , followed by the Japanese yen, British pound, and Swiss franc. Market moves are driven by a combination of speculation , economic strength and growth, and interest rate differentials.

Retail traders don't typically want to take delivery of the currencies they buy. They are only interested in profiting on the difference between their transaction prices. Because of this, most retail brokers will automatically " roll over " their currency positions at 5 p. EST each day. The broker basically resets the positions and provides either a credit or debit for the interest rate differential between the two currencies in the pairs being held.

The trade carries on and the trader doesn't need to deliver or settle the transaction. When the trade is closed the trader realizes a profit or loss based on the original transaction price and the price at which the trade was closed.

The rollover credits or debits could either add to this gain or detract from it. Since the forex market is closed on Saturday and Sunday, the interest rate credit or debit from these days is applied on Wednesday. Therefore, holding a position at 5 p.

on Wednesday will result in being credited or debited triple the usual amount. Any forex transaction that settles for a date later than spot is considered a forward. The price is calculated by adjusting the spot rate to account for the difference in interest rates between the two currencies. The amount of adjustment is called "forward points. The forward points reflect only the interest rate differential between two markets. They are not a forecast of how the spot market will trade at a date in the future.

A forward is a tailor-made contract. It can be for any amount of money and can settle on any date that's not a weekend or holiday. As in a spot transaction, funds are exchanged on the settlement date. A forex or currency futures contract is an agreement between two parties to deliver a set amount of currency at a set date, called the expiry, in the future. Futures contracts are traded on an exchange for set values of currency and with set expiry dates.

Unlike a forward, the terms of a futures contract are non-negotiable. A profit is made on the difference between the prices the contract was bought and sold at. Instead, speculators buy and sell the contracts prior to expiration, realizing their profits or losses on their transactions. There are some major differences between the way the forex operates and other markets such as the U. stock market operate. This means investors aren't held to as strict standards or regulations as those in the stock, futures or options markets.

There are no clearinghouses and no central bodies that oversee the entire forex market. You can short-sell at any time because in forex you aren't ever actually shorting; if you sell one currency you are buying another. Since the market is unregulated, fees and commissions vary widely among brokers. Most forex brokers make money by marking up the spread on currency pairs. Others make money by charging a commission, which fluctuates based on the amount of currency traded.

Some brokers use both. There's no cut-off as to when you can and cannot trade. Because the market is open 24 hours a day, you can trade at any time of day. The exception is weekends, or when no global financial center is open due to a holiday.

The forex market allows for leverage up to in the U. and even higher in some parts of the world. Leverage is a double-edged sword; it magnifies both profits and losses. Assume a trader believes that the EUR will appreciate against the USD.

Another way of thinking of it is that the USD will fall relative to the EUR. Later that day the price has increased to 1. If the price dropped to 1. Currency prices move constantly, so the trader may decide to hold the position overnight. The broker will rollover the position, resulting in a credit or debit based on the interest rate differential between the Eurozone and the U. Therefore, at rollover, the trader should receive a small credit. If the EUR interest rate was lower than the USD rate, the trader would be debited at rollover.

Rollover can affect a trading decision, especially if the trade could be held for the long term. Large differences in interest rates can result in significant credits or debits each day, which can greatly enhance or erode profits or increase or reduce losses of the trade.

Most brokers provide leverage. Many U. brokers leverage up to Let's assume our trader uses leverage on this transaction. That shows the power of leverage.

Are you looking to get started trading the forex market right away? It cannot be stressed enough that you should educate yourself extensively before trading currencies. Scalping Scalping is a trading strategy where traders will open a position in a currency for a brief period before closing for a small profit. Related Terms. Find out more about how to get started with a live trading account. This also works in reverse though.

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