What is Currency Trading? Currency trading is the buying and selling of currencies from around the world. It is the largest and most active trade happening, making trillions of dollars daily. Unlike other trade like stock exchange, currency trading has no specific time of trading. It happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In currency trading, there are currency pairs. A currency pair consists of two currencies, one of which is being bought and the other is the currency used to buy the other currency. Take a look at this example: GBP/USD where GBP is the British Pound. The GBP is what we call the 'base currency' which has the initial value of 1. This is the currency being bought. Next is the USD or the US dollar. This is what we call the 'quote-currency' and has the value of how much one of the base currency is worth. For example: EUR/USD 1.2436, one Euro is worth 1.2436 US dollars. If you need 1000 Euro, you'd have to exchange it for 1243.6 US dollars. Other major currencies traded are Canadian dollar (CAD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Australian dollar (AUD, and the Swiss Franc (CHF).
With Forex currency trading, you are actually buying or selling a "pair" of foreign currencies online, by phone or other methods. "Pair" means two currencies that are being compared by pip, or a common denominator between the two currency values. Bids are placed for the pair based on what buyers are willing to pay. An asking price is what sellers are willing to take at any given time. For example, you might buy Euro dollars with your US dollars, so you are actually buying the EUR/USD pair. The pair will either increase or decrease, depending on what buyers are willing to bid, giving you a gain or loss for your investment. The rise and fall of pips in Forex currency trading will depend on each country's foreign exchange rate. The exchange rates can be affected by interest rates, unemployment rates, inflation, national events or disasters. If you have ever traveled to a foreign land, then you understand that your own currency could either be worth more or less than the currency of that nation.
The forex currency trading is open for trades the whole 24 hours in a day. Compared to the domestic stock markets, the foreign currency trading is always in business since every country from different regions of the globe trade on the FX market. In addition, the other important distinction of the forex currency trading from the domestic stock exchange is that it does not rely on a central body or organization such as the NYSE or NASDAQ to act as middleman. Usually, the trading flows between major banking centers around the world.
There are several major benefits of Forex currency trading. The Forex market is non-stop. You can trade 24 hours a day easily online from your own home computer. Though the risk is high, the profits can be tremendous. There is also a very high leverage with Forex currency trading, giving you more trading freedom than ever. There are no brokerage or commission fees to pay, and no restrictions on short selling.
Naturally, like all trading, there are risks. A trader should keep in mind that the risk in currency trade is high and wrong decisions could lead to losses. Playing safe is okay but the higher the risks, the higher the profit. Decisions are vital so it is best to ask advice from the expertise of brokers whenever necessary.
In currency trading, there are currency pairs. A currency pair consists of two currencies, one of which is being bought and the other is the currency used to buy the other currency. Take a look at this example: GBP/USD where GBP is the British Pound. The GBP is what we call the 'base currency' which has the initial value of 1. This is the currency being bought. Next is the USD or the US dollar. This is what we call the 'quote-currency' and has the value of how much one of the base currency is worth. For example: EUR/USD 1.2436, one Euro is worth 1.2436 US dollars. If you need 1000 Euro, you'd have to exchange it for 1243.6 US dollars. Other major currencies traded are Canadian dollar (CAD), Japanese Yen (JPY), Australian dollar (AUD, and the Swiss Franc (CHF).
With Forex currency trading, you are actually buying or selling a "pair" of foreign currencies online, by phone or other methods. "Pair" means two currencies that are being compared by pip, or a common denominator between the two currency values. Bids are placed for the pair based on what buyers are willing to pay. An asking price is what sellers are willing to take at any given time. For example, you might buy Euro dollars with your US dollars, so you are actually buying the EUR/USD pair. The pair will either increase or decrease, depending on what buyers are willing to bid, giving you a gain or loss for your investment. The rise and fall of pips in Forex currency trading will depend on each country's foreign exchange rate. The exchange rates can be affected by interest rates, unemployment rates, inflation, national events or disasters. If you have ever traveled to a foreign land, then you understand that your own currency could either be worth more or less than the currency of that nation.
The forex currency trading is open for trades the whole 24 hours in a day. Compared to the domestic stock markets, the foreign currency trading is always in business since every country from different regions of the globe trade on the FX market. In addition, the other important distinction of the forex currency trading from the domestic stock exchange is that it does not rely on a central body or organization such as the NYSE or NASDAQ to act as middleman. Usually, the trading flows between major banking centers around the world.
There are several major benefits of Forex currency trading. The Forex market is non-stop. You can trade 24 hours a day easily online from your own home computer. Though the risk is high, the profits can be tremendous. There is also a very high leverage with Forex currency trading, giving you more trading freedom than ever. There are no brokerage or commission fees to pay, and no restrictions on short selling.
Naturally, like all trading, there are risks. A trader should keep in mind that the risk in currency trade is high and wrong decisions could lead to losses. Playing safe is okay but the higher the risks, the higher the profit. Decisions are vital so it is best to ask advice from the expertise of brokers whenever necessary.
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