Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Forex Trading - What's It All About Then?

What is this, I ask myself. It is short for foreign exchange trading it would seem. It sounds complicated and deeply involved, and probably mathematical. No, Im sure it is not so scary that I need scratch my head every time someone utters a mention of Forex.

Forex Is simply the abbreviated name for the market where currencies are traded between nations, since an Englishman will probably find it somewhat difficult to purchase a magazine or umbrella or tooth brush if all he carried in his pocket were South African Rands. So therefore a lot of the time money will move between countries as industry & commerce must function & thrive. So how much trading occurs within this market? The answer is a lot, as it is the biggest trading market in the world one hundred times larger than the New York Stock Exchange. An estimated 1.5 Trillion United States Dollars get traded over the Forex market every day. There is no central governing or managing body that controls this mega entity; it occurs on a natural course all on its own. The forex market runs 24 hours a day - very nearly the entire week - simply because of the nature of the worlds industrial & commercial fervency.

Trading on the forex market has proven preferable for many, for a series of reasons. It is easy to buy currency, and unlike most other markets, it is also very easy to sell currency. This immense fluency makes it incredibly safe to trade and on top of this one can start trading with a very small amount of collateral. There is also the fact that brokers on the forex market dont take commission, the profit from the bid/ask spread. Since the selling of currency is not at all difficult, one can abandon ship on a falling market before the take on too much damage.

Its not as simple as counting beans, however, to trade and profit on the forex market. In order to make money, one must have formulated a trading plan, and tested it thoroughly, as to avoid losing a significant portion of ones trading capital. Also very important, a throughout understanding of the way the market works, flows and changes is absolutely essential to the success of an individual on the forex market.

Basically one can list the major currencies that are traded on the forex market. They are the US Dollar, the British Pound, the Australian Dollar, the Canadian Dollar, the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc. These are just the main ones - not all that are traded. It is easier to trade on the forex market than on the stock exchange, since one can focus on a small portion of the currencies at a time, as apposed to the thousands of stocks one must disperse their precious time and concentration on when playing the stock market. Just where do you invest in a situation like that? That is what I would like to know. Does it even make sense? Why do people even bother to learn the stock market when the Forex Market Is right there, inching its nose around the corner, slowly, whispering into your ear, begging for you to go and catch it and ride it to financial completion.

So I hope this is a start to those who want to get more involved. I certainly learned something highly valuable in writing it, so good luck with your trading journey!

Phil Smulian is a reviewer for currency trading experts who can help you understand more about the forex seminar, Euro Forex Trading System