What is Forex Trading?

Forex Trading is a type of trading where banks, brokers, and traders speculate on the price movement of various currency pairs.

There are approximately 180 different currencies in the world. However, the most commonly traded currencies are the US Dollar, British Pound, Japanese Yen, and the Euro.

Several factors influence the movement of Forex pairs, including Geopolitical events, economic data, and interest rates.

Technical analysis:

This involves studying price action and using a variety of indicators to try and accurately predict the movement of currency pairs. Common indicators include moving averages, RSI (Relative Strength Index), and MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence). Traders use these tools to try and accurately predict trends and the future price action of a currency pair.

Fundamental analysis:

This involves paying close attention to geopolitical factors and trending news. This type of analysis is looking for factors that could impact the strength of a currency. These include things such as the GDP growth of a country, political stability, and decisions made by central banks. Major news releases can cause big moves in the Forex Market.

Sentiment analysis:

This type of analysis is more focused on the overall sentiment of market participants. For example, if there is a generally positive outlook for a specific currency, like the US dollar, it is expected that the dollar will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Likewise, if there is a negative sentiment toward another currency, like the Euro, traders will typically look to profit from this negative sentiment.

Different types of Forex Markets

The Forex Market can be categorized into three primary markets. These three markets are spot, forward, and futures.

But what is the difference, and how does each one work?

Spot Market:

This is the largest and most common of all. The 'spot price' is the current market price at which an asset is traded for immediate delivery. In the spot market, currencies are bought or sold 'on the spot.' An example would be going on holiday to another country and exchanging your home currency for the local currency.

Forward Market:

In this type of market, a buyer and seller agree to exchange currency at a future date, but the price is determined when the trade is executed. The contracts can be customized according to the needs of the two parties. Traders typically hedge against currency risk this way by locking in the future exchange rate.

Futures Market:

This type of market is similar to the forward market. However, the one noticeable difference is that the contracts cannot be customized. These contracts are more transparent than forwards, as they are traded on exchanges. Furthermore, both parties need to agree to an exact settlement date. Like forwards, these contracts specify the price at which a currency can be traded at a future date.

Understanding the concepts of Forex Trading

Currency pairs

Understanding currency pairs is fundamental to trading Forex. In Forex Trading, you simultaneously buy one currency and sell another, e.g., The US dollar (USD) and Euro (EUR).

One of the currencies in your currency pair represents the 'base' currency, while the second currency represents your 'quote' and shows how much of the quote currency is required to buy a single unit of the base currency.

Price movement of currencies

As a Forex Trader, your aim is to accurately predict whether the base currency in your currency pair will strengthen or weaken relative to your 'quote' currency.

Using an example of USD/EUR, our base currency would be the US Dollar (USD), and our quote currency would be the Euro (EUR). If we believe the USD will strengthen against the Euro, we would buy the USD/EUR pair.

Profit and loss

Forex Traders make or lose money when their predictions align with the market movement. For example, if we buy the USD/EUR currency pair, and the USD strengthens relative to the Euro, the trader would make a profit. Conversely, if the US Dollar weakened against the Euro, the trader would incur a loss.

Forex and Leverage

Forex Trading typically involves the use of leverage, which allows traders to borrow money from their broker. This allows the trader to make amplified profit on their capital through the ability to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital. While leverage is appealing, it can also magnify any losses.

Good risk management

Proper risk management is one of the most crucial aspects of long-term and sustainable success in Forex Trading. Using tools like a 'stop loss' for losing trades and a 'take profit' on winning trades is vital to controlling your emotions when trading Forex.

A 'stop loss' allows you to cut your losses when a trade goes against you so that you limit the amount of money you lose. On the other hand, 'take profit' allows you to lock in your profit and close the trade when your profit target has been reached.

Understanding spreads

A forex spread is the difference between the buy and sell price of a currency pair. This is the cost that forex traders pay, and brokers usually earn money through this spread.

Tighter spreads typically mean lower trading costs. Major currency pairs, such as the EUR/USD will typically have tighter spreads than minor currency pairs, such as the Canadian dollar (CAD) and the Australian dollar (AUD).