Wednesday 13 January 2010

Use These 3 Simple Guidelines to Boost Forex Profits

FOREX trading is nothing more than direct access trading of different types of foreign currencies. In the past, foreign exchange trading was mostly limited to large banks and institutional traders. Recent technological advancements have made it so that small traders can also take advantage of the many benefits of FOREX trading by using the various online trading platforms.

FOREX markets possess unique attributes that offer unmatched potential for profitable trading in any market or any stage of the business cycle. For starters, FOREX trading boasts a 24-hour market, giving traders the chance to take advantage of profitable market conditions anytime. Secondly, the FOREX market is the most liquid market in the world. FOREX traders can enter or exit the market whenever they want, during almost any market condition. There also exist minimal execution barriers or risk and no daily trading limits.


For all the advantages of the FOREX market, one glaring weakness emerges. The FOREX market is seen as unregulated although the operations of major dealers, like commercial banks in money centers, are regulated under the banking laws. The daily operations of retail FOREX brokerages are not regulated under any laws or regulations specific to the FOREX market. Many of these types of establishments in the United States, don't even report to the I.R.S. To make the most of the explosive potential of successful FOREX trading, individuals should follow these guidelines.

1.Determine the quality of the broker institution you choose.

Unlike equity brokers, FOREX brokers are usually attached to large banks or lending institutions because of the large amounts of capital that is required. FOREX brokers should be registered with the Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) as well as regulated by the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC)

2. Request a free trial.

Before you commit to any broker, be sure to request free trials so that you can test their different trading platforms. Brokers usually provide technical as well as fundamental commentaries, economic calendars and other research as a means of assisting you. Basically, a quality broker will provide everything one needs to succeed.


3.Monitor two financial meetings to provide insight into the upcoming FOREX market.

Two important meetings FOREX traders should watch for are the federal Open Market Committee and the Humphrey Hawkins Hearings. By reading the reports and examining the commentary, FOREX fundamental analysts can get a better understanding of any and all long-term market trends it also allows short-term traders to be able to profit from extraordinary happenings.

What Exactly Is Forex?

Foreign Exchange trading (also called Forex, FX or currency trading) describes trading in the many currencies of the world. It is the largest market, which provides a large amount of liquidity to traders. Each day the markets trade over $1.5 trillion, if you compare the New York Stock Exchange which trades $27 billion a day you can begin to see how massive this market really is.

The spot Forex market trades are settled within two banking days. There is no central exchange like futures, and most of the trades are done electronically. The big boy’s in this game are the Banks, Hedge Funds and financial organisations.
However, with new rules and introduction of Trading Platforms across the internet almost anyone can now start trading Currencies.


Unlike any other type of trading currencies are traded in pairs. One currency is bought and the other sold. The Major pairs in The Forex Market are US Dollar (USD) Japenese Yen (JPY) Swiss Franc (CHF) Australian Dollar (AUD) Canadian Dollar (CAD) British Pound (GBP) and the Euro (EUR)
These Currencies can be traded in most order but the most popular pairs are the US Dollar Against the Japenese Yen Shown as USD/JPY, Euro against the US Dollar (EUR/USD), the British Pound against the US Dollar (GBP/USD), the British Pound against the Euro (GBP/EUR) and the US Dollar against the Swiss Franc (USD/CHF).

When quoting currency pairs, the first currency is known as the base currency and the second as the quote, if you think the US Dollar is going to be stronger than the Japenese Yen, you would buy the base (USD) Hoping that it would rise and sell the USD when you wanted to exit the trade. When you see a quote of USD/GBP1.75 means that for every 1 US Dollar, you get 1.75 British Pounds.
One great advantage of trading currencies is you can profit in up and down markets, it is just acceptable to trade to the down side (Short) as it is to the upside (Long).
As in All types of trading Buying and selling Currencies brings with it a degree of risk, don’t ever trade with money you cannot afford to lose. Never enter a market without a good trading plan.