What Is Forex?
The foreign exchange market (Forex or FX) is a global marketplace where currency trading takes place. Currently it is one of the largest and most liquid financial markets in the world and includes trading between banks, currency traders, corporations, governments, and other institutions and individuals. The average daily volume in the global foreign exchange is continuously growing. In 2007 it was reported that over $3.2 trillion were traded daily on the Forex market.
There is no unified or centrally cleared market for the majority of FX trades, and there is very little cross-border regulation. Due to the “over the counter” nature of currency markets, it is rather a number of connected marketplaces, than a single market. That is why there is not a single exchange rate, but a number of different rates. The main trading centers are: London, New York and Tokyo, but Hong Kong and Singapore are also very important. Currency trading takes place continuously throughout the day; when the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, followed by the North American session and then back to the Asian session. Forex market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, excluding weekends.
On the FX market currencies are traded one against another. Each pair of currencies constitutes a different, unique product. The price of the first currency in the pair is expressed in the second currency in the pair. So if we see EUR/USD and the price 1.6161 it means that the price for 1 euro is 1.6161 dollars. The most frequently traded pairs are those involving dollars, euro, yen and sterling. The most popular pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY and GBP/USD.
There are several possible financial instruments on the FX market and those are:
- swap – the most common and most forward transaction type, where two parties exchange currencies for a certain period of time and agree to reverse the transaction at a later date
- spot – a two day delivery transaction the trade represents a direct exchange between two currencies and has the shortest time frame
- forward – one-way transaction, where two parties agree on a transaction on a future date, regardless of what the market prices are by that date
- futures – foreign exchange futures are exchnge traded forward transactions with standard contract sizes and maturity dates
- options – the market where the owner has the right, but not the obligation to exchange money denominated in one currency to another currency at a pre-agreed exchange rate; this is the deepest, largest and most liquid market in the world.
Can I Trade on Forex Too?
Yes, the Forex market is open to individuals over the age of eighteen. Thanks to telecommunication technological advancement virtually anyone with Internet access anywhere in the world can become a trader. Trading can be conducted anywhere - in the office, at home, even when you are away from the computer. Forex trading can be easily comprehended and understood without prior knowledge in economy or finance. Any person can participate in the market and some brokers allow you to start with as little as US$ 25. Moreover, the leverage offered by brokers lets you control a large enough position to trade from very small market movements.
Trade on Forex is accessible through the Internet with use of special programs - trading terminals or platforms. If you wish to trade on the Forex market, you will need to open an account with the broker of your choice and download a free terminal. It only takes a few moments to set up the program and get it running.
While Forex is open to almost everyone, a successful trader must avoid several common pitfalls, such as:
- trading too frequently or opening too many positions at once
- lack of discipline and consistency in one's trading
- irrational gambling instead of taking only responsible risks
- trading against one's better judgement
- letting emotions like greed or fear take control
To avoid these typically human errors, it is better to use automated trading systems called "Expert Advisors".
What Are Experts Advisors?
An Expert Advisor (EA), is a program that monitors the forex market and automatically trades in your behalf. It analyzes the market looking for specific conditions. When the conditions are met it can open, modify and close your trading orders. An expert advisor runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. And you keep all the profits for yourself.
There are several reasons why both beginners and experienced traders can benefit from using Expert Advisors:
- Expert Advisors are consistent. They stick to the plan and the settings you have developed into them no matter how uncertain the market looks or how you may feel about the market at a particular point of time. An EA can eliminate the negative human aspects of trading which include fear, greed and inconsistency in trading.
- Expert Advisors free you up from physically having to watch and analyse the charts to find a signal to enter or exit trades. They do this automatically for you so you don't have to sit in front of your computer all day. Therefore you can spend more time on actually developing your trading strategies, doing back tests etc.
- Expert Advisors can monitor many markets at the same time, giving you access to far more trading opportunities than you can physically find and analyse by yourself.
Why My4xStore?
Here in My4xStore we have gathered a set of carefully selected Expert Advisors, including some newest strategies from the producers of the well known Pips Miner EA. By creating your free account at My4xStore you can conveniently manage your purchases and licenses. All in one place, no more wandering from site to site. In case your file is lost or damaged, you can always download it again from your Account at this website with no additional costs.
If you're a Forex affiliate, My4xStore will provide you with easy ways to manage your affiliate links and campaigns. Just log in to your account and you will find all your sales statistics and promotional materials, presented in a clear, concise manner.
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