TMT Introduction to Forex

What is Forex?

"Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a Forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another - that is, you're exchanging the sold currency for the one you're buying. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market.

Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). Unlike stocks or futures, there's no centralized exchange for Forex. All transactions happen via phone or electronic network.

Who trades currencies, and why?
Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:

  • Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
  • Speculation for profit (95%).

Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs. "The Majors" include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily Forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.

The world's most traded market, trading 24 hours a day!

  
 
With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, Forex is the most traded market in the world. A true 24-hour market (Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET), Forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, on to Tokyo, London, and New York.

Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations anytime, day or night.


Understanding Forex Quotes

Reading a foreign exchange quote is simple if you remember two things:

  1. The first currency listed is the base currency.
  2. The value of the base currency is always 1.

As the centerpiece of the Forex market, the US dollar is usually considered the base currency for quotes. When the base currency is USD, think of the quote as telling you what a US dollar is worth in that other currency. When USD is the base currency and the quote goes up, that means USD has strengthened in value and the other currency has weakened. Rising quotes mean a US dollar can now buy more of the other currency than before.

Majors not based on the US dollar
The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). For these pairs, where USD is not the base currency, a rising quote means the US dollar is weakening and buys less of the other currency than before. In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, the base currency is getting stronger. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.

Cross currencies
Currency pairs that don't involve USD at all are called cross currencies, but the premise is the same.

Bids, asks and the spread
Just like other markets, Forex quotes consist of two sides, the bid and the ask:
  • The BID is the price at which you can SELL base currency.
  • The ASK is the price at which you can BUY base currency.

What is a pip?
Forex prices are often so liquid, they're quoted in tiny increments called pips, or "percentage in point". A pip refers to the fourth decimal point out, or 1/100th of 1%. For Japanese yen, pips refer to the second decimal point. This is the only exception among the major currencies.

Leverage and Margin

Leverage trading, or trading on margin, means you aren't required to put up the full value of the position.
Forex trading offers more leverage than stocks or futures - up to 100 times the value of your account. Of course keep in mind that increased leverage also increases your risk. Your risk is only limited to funds on deposit. There are no margin calls in Forex trading, so if your account falls below required levels, for your protection we will close out all positions automatically. You'll never lose more money than you have in your account.

More leverage means more opportunity - and more risk
It's crucial to remember: increasing leverage increases risk. To limit downside risk, monitor your account regularly and use stop-loss orders on every open position.

Calculating Profit and Loss

For ease of use, most online trading platforms automatically calculate the P&L of a traders' open positions. However, it is useful to understand how this calculation is formulated. To illustrate an FX trade, consider the following two examples:

Let's say that the current bid/ask for EUR/USD is 1.4616/19, meaning you can buy 1 euro for 1.4619 or sell 1 euro for 1.4616.

Suppose you decide that the Euro is undervalued against the US dollar. To execute this strategy, you would buy Euros (simultaneously selling dollars), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.

So you make the trade: to buy 100,000 Euros you pay 146,190 dollars (100,000 x 1.4619). Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be approximately $1,461 for this trade.

As you expected, Euro strengthens to 1.4623/26. Now, to realize your profits, you sell 100,000 Euros at the current rate of 1.4623, and receive $146,230

You bought 100k Euros at 1.4619, paying $146,190. Then you sold 100k Euros at 1.4623, receiving $146,230. That's a difference of 4 pips, or in dollar terms ($146,190 - 146,230 = $40).

Total profit = US $40.

Now in the example, let's say that we once again buy EUR/USD when trading at 1.4616/19. You buy 100,000 Euros you pay 146,190 dollars (100,000 x 1.4619).

However, Euro weakens to 1.4611/14. Now, to minimize your loses to sell 100,000 Euros at 1.4611 and receive $146,110.

You bought 100k Euros at 1.4619, paying $146,190. You sold 100k Euros at 1.4611, receiving $146,110. That's a difference of 8 pips, or in dollar terms ($146,190 - $146,110 = $80)

Total loss = US $80.

More Information

"All About the Foreign Exchange Markets in the United States", from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
 
 
 
  Gain Capital / Forex.com acts as the clearing agent and counterparty to customers introduced by The Money Traders' margined Forex transactions. Gain Capital / Forex.com is a registered Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).