A Guide To Forex Trading
Trading money in the global markets can be great way to make more of it, it can also be a lesson in how to lose money quickly. More than $1 trillion is traded every day on the foreign currency exchange (Forex), and yet no centralized headquarters or formal regulatory body exists for this form of trade. Foreign currency exchange is regulated through a patchwork of international agreements between countries, most of which have some type of regulatory agency that controls what goes on within their respective borders. Thus, the foreign currency exchange actually is a worldwide network of traders who are connected by telephone and computer screens.
Although more international policing of money trading has occurred in recent years, authorities have had some successes exposing scams and frauds that victimize traders, especially newer ones. So if you want to try this wild world of trading, you need to be wary and not depend entirely on experts. Sure, experts can help you in explaining the working of foreign exchange markets and how the language of the Forex and its risks are unique, but you need a lot more training before you even consider entering this extremely risky trading arena.
If you have ever traveled outside the United States, you have probably traded in a foreign currency. Every time you travel outside your home country, you have to exchange your country’s currency for the currency used in the country you are visiting. If you are a US citizen shopping in England and you see a sweater that you want for 100 pounds (the pound is the name of the basic unit of currency in Great Britain), you would need to know the exchange rate. And that’s the way foreign currency exchange is used by the average shopper, but foreign currency traders trade much larger sums of money thousands of times a day.
A Guide To Choosing The Right Forex Trading Software
Foreign exchange trading, in the way that we know now it, would not exist if it were not for the rapid development of forex trading software. These software packages allow forex traders to work from their own personal computers and to interact with the large trading platforms that actually oversee and place forex trades. In addition to being the tool that traders use to complete their deals, many of these software packages also contain multiple sources of information that investors will find very useful. Everything from current pricing to performance history can be looked up in short order using forex trading software.
Quick fact : The Forex market is by far the largest financial market in the world, and includes trading between large banks,central banks, currency speculators,multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions.
One site that offers their own version of forex trading software when you open an account with them is forex. com. This custom designed software is widely used and has a high rate of customer satisfaction. The site’s customer service center is open 24 hours a day Monday through Friday (basically when the worldwide forex markets are open) so that you can address any issues that you may have immediately. Experienced forex traders know just how costly down time can be, so it’s important to have someone to turn to immediately should any problems occur.
Did you know that the average daily trade in the global forex markets currently exceeds US$ 2-2.5 trillion !
Another great website that offers free downloadable forex trading software when you open an account is gftforex. com. The software they make available to their clients is called Dealbook360. This state of the art trading software is simple enough to allow even beginning forex traders to feel comfortable but powerful and comprehensive enough to keep even the most demanding foreign exchange traders happy and satisfied . In addition, Dealbook 360 monitors some of the tightest bid/buy spreads available, thus increasing your profit margins.
One web site that you may find exceedingly helpful is fxstreet. com. The creators of this page have made a running list of all of the major trading platforms and the banks that support them. Additionally, the software packages utilized by each company are listed here. This information will allow you to choose your institution based on software if you feel more comfortable with one program than another does. This site also provides information on which sites offer the best customer support. Whether it’s online support, phone support, or even live support, you can find out what is available as fxstreet. com.
You will find that most forex trading software is similar in design and function. The features that separate good from bad are the support features that each forex trading company offers with its trading software. Before you choose a foreign exchange trading company to use, make sure that you do plenty of research on all of the companies that you are interested in. Take advantage of the investment simulators that each offers on its site and get a feel for how the forex trading software works in real time. Read consumer reviews to see other forex trader’s opinions and experiences with a given company. Check to make sure that their customer service record is reliable and prompt.
A Guide To Foreign Currency Trading
While foreign currency trading offers its rewards, especially when you are able to trade in major currencies like the US dollars and Euro, caution against advertisements and brokers that offer instant riches must be observed.
There is move to regulate foreign currency traders. Unfortunately, not all in the industry are registered. Not entirely illegal, many unregistered brokers populate the financial markets. Extra precaution is suggested for individuals and companies when they deal with forex brokers.
The United States has passed a federal law, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 that gives authority to the commission to investigate suspicions of frauds in the transactions.
Frauds in Forex trading have telltale signs and you must be aware of these. Be wary of schemes that offer quick riches. An experienced Forex brokers will tell you currency trading is not a risk free business and only those with real analytical methods can succeed in the field. And, even when projections seem sound, there is no way of telling exactly how strong a currency will hold out against many factors. So watch out for those who promise large profits no matter the economic condition is.
Most brokers ask for margin investments. If you are not fully aware of how this works, do not venture into it. You may be losing s more than you earn in the long run. Beware also of the Interbank market?service that brokers may offer. In reality, only large banks, corporations and investment institutions have access to this loose network of currency traders.
To be sure about the credibility of the brokers you are getting, study their profiles and company background seriously and extensively. Stick with a shortlist of firms that are registered with the regulatory commission on commodity futures.
From Beginner To Forex Trader
When you begin to investigate this business of day trading a plethora of information comes at you. Type in day trading, do a search and you get close to a million choices. That’s a lot of info to sieve through. So where do we start?
There are some basic necessities that you must have before you can begin. A fairly good computer is a must. The prices are going down and the power is increasing all the time. So these days you can pick up a new machine for about $800 that will do the job. A high end trading machine with all the bells whistles will set you back about $1500. One thing you must consider is how many monitors are needed. I recommend 2 because you can’t go wrong with screen real estate in this business. Believe me it won’t go to waste. This will push up the price a little, but it is well worth it. Make sure you get a flat panel LCD which comes standard when you buy a new machine. Remember your eyes. Don’t try and save a couple of bucks by purchasing an old fashion flickering monitor. Hours in front of the screen can be a daily occurrence in this business. Computer auctions are a good option.
The second item is a fast internet connection. There are many options available here, but do not go below ADSL. The speed of the information coming to your computer is very important.
Finally, on the hardware side, make sure your setup is comfortable. The desk should be at the right height and a swivel type reclining business chair is really nice.
Now you are all set, so what do we trade? There are 3 basic categories to choose from. These are stocks and options, futures and commodities and foreign currencies.
Let us look at stocks. There are thousands of them. Then there are the exchanges such as The New York Stock Exchange for the big boys then there is the NASDAQ for the internet type younger companies. We also have pink sheets for stocks with low trading volume. How do you decide which stocks to trade. There are various software packages that screen stocks for whatever parameters you input You can screen for gapers, which are stocks that have gone up or down by a fairly large amount when compared with the previous days close. Then there are lows and highs, unusual volume, earnings reports, other reports that affect the stocks price, sector performance and on and on it goes. It can be a daunting task deciding ? If you want to trade stocks. What about options? They are too specialized for the beginner in my opinion. Learn something simple and then you can graduate to options if you so desire.
Futures and commodities on the other hand offer the trader a much smaller basket of goods to choose from. I would stay out of commodities if you are just learning. Commodities such as grains, orange juice, coffee and pork bellies etc. require the trader to acquire knowledge about the peculiarities of the commodity. For instance, when is the end of the grain harvest? How has the weather affected the harvest, and a host of other variables. There is an easier way!
When we take a close look at foreign currency trading we see some decided advantages compared to the other instruments already mentioned. Foreign currency trading, commonly called forex, involves the buying and selling of one currency against the other. One of the huge advantages of forex is its?liquidity, which is the volume of transactions measured daily, weekly or annually. The liquidity in forex is second to none. This is important because it means when you trade you will almost always get your fills. Can you imagine buying a stock and it starts to dive and you can’t get rid of it because of lack of liquidity! This would not happen in forex trading. Another advantage is its high daily range. This means every day the currencies increase and decrease in price enough to allow the trader to have opportunities for trades every day. The forex market also gives you flexible work hours. All around the globe the same currencies are being traded from almost sunrise to sunrise. You can literally choose when you want to trade. It is ideal for learning and practice if you have a current job and want to transition to trading over a period of time, or if you want to just trade on the side. One of the biggest advantages of trading foreign currencies is the leverage it gives the trader. This means you can start with as little as US$2000 or sometimes less and start to trade right away. Another advantage is that you can focus on one or two pairs of currencies and really learn to trade them very well because you will get to know them so well. You do not have to wonder which stock should I going to trade today.
Finally the opportunity exists for you to be trained by experts on all aspects of forex trading for a very reasonable price. You do not need to try and reinvent the wheel. It has all been done for you already. Researched, experimented, tried, tested and proven to work.
Test your Forex EA and Strategy on Forex Tester or an demo account first before investing with live account. Reccomended Forex Brokers:
Icmarkets: https://icmarkets.com
Exness: https://exness.com
Iqoption: https://iqoption.com
Deriv: https://deriv.com
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