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Academy

What is Forex Market

The Forex market is where banks, businesses, governments, investors and traders come to exchange and speculate on currencies. The Forex market is also referred to as the 'Fx market','Currency market’, 'Foreign exchange currency market’ or 'Foreign currency market’, and it is the largest and most liquid market in the world with an average daily turnover of $ 5.3 trillion.

Advantages of Forex Trading

The Fx market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week with the most important world trading centers being located in London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, and Sydney Forex is the largest market in the world, with daily volumes exceeding $5.3 trillion per day. Trade whenever you want: There is no opening bell in the Forex market. You can enter or exit a trade whenever you want from Sunday around 5pm EST to Friday around 4pm EST.

Ease of access


You can fund your trading account with as little as $100 at many retail brokers and begin trading the same day in some cases. Straight through order execution allows you to trade at the click of a mouse.

Fewer currency pairs to focus on, instead of getting lost trying to analyze thousands of stocks. Freedom to trade anywhere in the world with the only requirements being a laptop and internet connection.

Commission-free trading with many retail market-makers and overall lower transaction costs than stocks and commodities. Volatility allows traders to profit in any market condition and provides for high-probability weekly trading opportunities. Also, there is no structural market bias like the long bias of the stock market, so traders have equal opportunity to profit in rising or falling markets.

Forex Terminologies

With years of experience in forex trading, our company has built a strong reputation for trust and reliability, with a commitment to ensuring the best trading experience for our clients.

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PIP

The smallest increment of price movement a currency can make. Also called point or points. For example, 1 pip for the EUR/USD = 0.0001 and 1 pip for the USD/JPY = 0.01..

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Leverage

Leverage is the ability to gear your account into a position greater than your total account margin. For instance, if a trader has $1,000 of margin in his account and he opens a $100,000 position, he leverages his account by 100 times, or 100:1

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Margin

The deposit required to open or maintain a position. Margin can be either “free” or “used”.Used margin is that amount which is being used to maintain an open position, whereas free margin is the amount available to open new positions. With a $1,000 margin balance in your account and a 1% margin requirement to open a position, you can buy or sell a position worth up to a notional $100,000. This allows a trader to leverage his account by up to 100 times or a leverage ratio of 100:1.

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Spread

The difference between the sell quote and the buy quote or the bid and offer price. For example, if EUR/USD quotes read 1.3200/03, the spread is the difference between 1.3200 and 1.3203, or 3 pips. In order to break even on a trade, a position must move in the direction of the trade by an amount equal to the spread.

Base/quote Currencies

Currency Pairs

The first currency in the pair that is located to the left of the slash mark is called the base currency, and the second currency of the pair that's located to the right of the slash market is called the counter or quote currency.

If you buy the EUR/USD (or any other currency pair), the exchange rate tells you how much you need to pay in terms of the quote currency to buy one unit of the base currency. In other words, in the example above, you have to pay 1.32105 U.S. dollars to buy 1 euro.



If you sell the EUR/USD (or any other currency pair), the exchange rate tells you how much of the quote.

Currency you receive for selling one unit of the base currency. In other words, in the example above, you will receive 1.32105 U.S. dollars if you sell 1 euro.


Bid-Ask Price:


Bid Price - The bid is the price at which the market (or your broker) will buy a specific currency pair from you. Thus, at the bid price, a trader can sell the base currency to their broker

Ask Price - The ask price is the price at which the market (or your broker) will sell a specific currency pair to you. Thus, at the ask price you can buy the base currency from your broker.

Order Types

Another great thing about the Forex market is that you have more of a potential to profit in both rising and falling markets due to the fact that there is no market bias like the bullish bias of stocks. Anyone who has traded for a while knows that the fastest money is made in falling markets, so if you learn to trade both bull and bear markets you will have plenty of opportunities to profit.


Long - When we go long it means we are buying the market and so we want the market to rise so that we can then sell back our position at a higher price than we bought for. This means we are buying the first currency in the pair and selling the second. So, if we buy the EURUSD and the euro strengthens relative to the U.S. dollar, we will bein a profitable trade.


Short - When we go short it means we are selling the market and so we want the market to fall so that we can then buy back our position at a lower price than we sold it for. This means we are selling the first currency in the pair and buying the second. So, if we sell the GBPUSD and the British pound weakens relative to the U.S. dollar, we will bein a profitable trade.


Market Order - A market orderisan order thatis placed ‘atthe market’ and it’s executed instantly at the best available price.

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Limit Order

A limit entry order is placed to either buy below the current market price or sell above the current market price. Thisis a bit tricky to understand at first so let me explain:If the EURUSD is currently trading at 1.3200 and you want to go sell the market if it reaches 1.3250, you can place a limit sell order and then when / if the market touches 1.3250 it will fill you short. Thus, the limit sell order is placed ABOVE current market price. If you want to buy the EURUSD at 1.3050 and the market is trading at 1.3100, you would place your limit buy order at 1.3050 and then if the market hits that level it will fill you long. Thus the limit buy order is placed BELOW current market price.

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Buy Stop & Sell Stop Order

A stop-entry order is placed to buy above the current market price or sell below it. For example, if you want to trade long but you want to enter on a breakout of a resistance area, you would place your buy stop just above the resistance and you would get filled as price moves up into your stop entry order. The opposite holds true for asell-stop entry if you want to sell the market.

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Stop Loss Order

A stop-loss order isan order thatis connected to a trade for the purpose of preventing further losses if the price moves beyond a level that you specify. The stop-loss is perhaps the most important order in Forex trading since it gives you the ability to control your risk and limit losses. This order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or you modify or cancel the stop-loss order.

Trailing Stop Loss

The trailing stop-loss order is an order that is connected to a trade like the standard stop-loss,but a trailing stop-loss moves or ‘trails’ the current market price as your trade moves in your favor. You can typically set your trailing stop-loss to trail at a certain distance from current market price, it will not start moving until or unless the price moves greater than the distance you specify. For example, if you set a 50 pip trailing stop on the EURUSD, the stop will not move up until your position is in your favor by 51 pips, and then the stop will only move again if the market moves 51 pips above where your trailing stop is, so this way you can lock in profit as the market moves in your favor while still giving the trade room to grow and breath. Trailing stops are best used instrong trending markets.

GTC/GFD/0OCO/OTO:


Good till Cancelled order (GTC) : A good till cancelled order is exactly what it says...good until you cancel it.


Good for the Day order (GFD) : A good for day order remains active in the market until the end of the trading day, in Forex the trading day ends at 5:00pm EST or New York time.


One Cancels the Other order (OCO) : A one cancels the other order is essentially two sets of orders; it can consist of two entry orders, two stop loss orders, or two entry and two stop-loss orders. Essentially, when one orderis executed the otheris cancelled.


One Triggers the Other order (OTO) :This order is the opposite of an OCO order, because instead of cancelling an order uponfilling one, it will trigger another order upon filling one.


Lot Sizes

In Forex, positions are quoted in terms of 'lots'.The common nomenclature is 'standard lot’, 'mini lot’, 'micro lot’, and 'nano lot’; we can see examples of each of these in the chart below and the number of units they each


Lot Numbers of Units
Standard 100000
Mini 10000
Micro 1000
Nano 100

Represent:

We will assume we are using standard lots, which control 100,000 units per lot. Let's see how this affects pip value.

EUR/JPY at an exchange rate of 100.50 (.01 / 100.50) x 100,000 = $9.95 per pip USD/CHF at an exchange rate of 0.9190(.0001 /.9190) x 100,000 = 510.88 per pip

In currency pairs where the U.S. dollar is the quote currency, one standard lot will always equal $10 per pip, one mini-lot will equal $1 per pip, one micro-lost will equal .10 cents per pip, and a nano-lot is one penny per pip.

Major Economical Events

Gross Domestic Products (GDP)

The GDP report is one of the most important of all economic indicators. It is the biggest measure of the overall state of the economy. The GDP number is released at 8:30 am EST on the last day of each quarter and it reflects the previous quarter's activity. The GDP is the aggregate (total) monetary value of all the goods and services produced by the entire economy during the quarter being measured; this does not include international activity however. The growth rate of GDP is the important number to look for.

Trade Balance

Trade balance is a measure of the difference between imports and exports of tangible goods and services. The level of a country's trade balance and changes in exports vs. imports is widely followed and an important indicator of a country's overall economic strength. It's better to have more exports than imports, as exports help grow a country's economy and reflect the overall health of its manufacturing sector.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)


A limit entry order is placed to either buy below the current market price or sell above the current market price. Thisis a bit tricky to understand at first so let me explain:

If the EURUSD is currently trading at 1.3200 and you want to go sell the market if it reaches 1.3250, you can place a limit sell order and then when / if the market touches 1.3250 it will fill you short. Thus, the limit sell order is placed ABOVE current market price. If you want to buy the EURUSD at 1.3050 and the market is trading at 1.3100, you would place your limit buy order at 1.3050 and then if the market hits that level it will fill you long. Thus the limit buy order is placed BELOW current market price.


Producer Price Index (PPI)


The PPI report is the most widely used measure of inflation. This report is released at 8:30 am EST around the 15" of each month and it reflects the previous month's data. PPI measures the change in the cost of a bundle of consumer goods and services from month to month.


Employment Indicator


The most important employment announcement occurs on the first Friday of every month at 8:30 am EST. This announcement includes the unemployment rate; which is the percentage of the work force that is unemployed, the number of new jobs created, the average hours worked per week, and average hourly earnings. This report often results in significant market movement. You will often hear traders and analysts talking about “NFP”, this means Non-Farm Employment report, and it is perhaps the one report each month that has the greatest power to move the markets.

Non Farm Payroll (NFP)

Non-farm payrollis aterm used inthe U.S. to refer to any job with the exception of farm work, unincorporated self-employment and employment by private households, nonprofit organizations and the military and intelligence agencies. Proprietors are also excluded. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases closely followed monthly data on non-farm payrolls as part of its Employment Situation Report, which is commonly known as the 'Jobs Report’. The headline figure—the change in the total number of non-farm payrolls compared to the previous month—is used as a gauge of economic health.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is the branch of the Federal Reserve Board that determines the direction of Monetary Policy. The FOMC meets eight times a year to discuss whether to maintain or change current policy. A vote to change policy would result in either buying or selling U.S. Government Securities on the open market to promote the growth of the national economy.

Durable Good Order

The durable goods orders report gives a measurement of how much people are spending on longer-term purchases, these are defined as products that are expected to last more than three years. The report is released at 8:30 am EST around the 26" of each month and is believed to provide some insight into the future of the manufacturing industry.

Retail Sales Index


The Retail Sales Index measures goods sold within the retail industry, from large chains to smaller local stores, it takes a sampling of a set of retail stores across the country. The Retail Sales Index is released at 8:30 am EST around the 12th of each month; it reflects data from the previous month. This report is often revised fairly significantly after the final numbers come out.


Housing Data


Housing data includes the number of new homes that a country began building that month as well as existing home sales. Residential construction activity is a major cause of economic stimulus for a country and so it's widely followed by Forex participants. Existing home sales are a good measure of economic strength of a country as well; low existing home sales and low new home starts are typically a sign of a sluggish or weak economy.


Interest Rates


Interest rates are the main driver in Forex markets; all of the above-mentioned economic indicators are closely watched by the Federal Open Market Committee in order to gauge the overall health of the economy. The Fed can use the tools at its disposable to lower, raise, or leave interest rates unchanged, depending on the evidence it has gathered on the health of the economy. While interest rates are the main driver of Forex price action, all of the above economic indicators are also very important. Fed meetings held eight times a year.

Disclaimers:

Venus Capital does not provide or facilitate business services or transactions to residents of the USA, UAE or any other country that may be subject to any international sanctions.

Risk Warning:

The financial products offered via this website include digitals, contracts for difference (CFDs), and other complex derivatives and financial products. Trading options may not be suitable for everyone. Trading CFDs carries a high level of risk since leverage can work both to your advantage and disadvantage. As a result, the products offered on this website may not be suitable for all investors because of the risk of losing all of your invested capital. You should never invest money that you cannot afford to lose, and never trade with borrowed money. Before trading in the complex financial products offered, please be sure to understand the risks involved and learn about Secure and responsible trading.

Forex and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when forex and CFDs trading with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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