Forex or Foreign exchange has been more visible in many business portfolios ever since small investors were given a chance to join in the currency exchange realm. Even with the presence of pressure and the rigors of a day job, numerous traders still aspire to enter and profit from the Forex markets.
There are available Forex accounts that lets you practice your trading skills for 1 month without risk. There are quotes, currency pairs, technical charts and analysis and 24 hour news regarding your account. The amount of the mini practice account is $5,000 while the standard practice account costs $50,000.
The minimum investment in a standard Forex account ranges from $5,000 to $10,000.
There are different types of foreign exchange accounts and most traders keep two or more accounts while trading. These accounts are basically categorized according to how much capital a broker can invest. Generally there are three types of Forex accounts namely:
1. Mini account which is ideal for beginners who have an initial capital of less than $10,000. Basically, one is allowed to engage in Forex with just $250. Mini account can be a good starting point which can build up the confidence of new and less experienced traders in the market. With just a small capital, one should not expect a high profit; nevertheless your money is subject to low risks of loss.
2. Standard account which requires a trader an initial investment of $2,000.
3. Premium accounts with significant amounts of capital required. These accounts can have different trading services and tools for innovation.
With the presence of these kinds of accounts, it is worth pointing out that a good managed Forex account can do miracles in trading. A trader can gain much by choosing a managed account backed up with good track records. Aside from these facts, certain benefits are worth mentioning such as:
• Managed Forex accounts can let a trader participate in trading market without the hassle of monitoring it 24 hours.
• Managed accounts are handled by professionals
• There are managed accounts that are not attached to the stock market, thus assets can be more diversified.
• Greater profit maximization can be possible in both falling and rising markets.
• Assets are liquid and can be withdrawn regularly
• Monthly reports of account are accessible and there is a real time management of account.
Choosing a right account and investing in it poses a risk. It is important therefore to know what steps are to take in order to minimize. Here are the few things to remember when opening a Forex account:
1. In signing up for an account, identification is necessary; this is required by the Federal Law to avoid fraud. A trader will be asked to sign a margin agreement. Prepare the necessary documents and read the agreements thoroughly to avoid confusions.
2. Try the practice or demo account to learn the basics of trading. There are brokers who impulsively leap into trading and quickly lose their money. Take your time and learn how the trading process works.
3. Avoid being emotional while in a trade. Traders should stick to their decisions and not let their emotions control them.
Foreign exchange can be considered as the biggest and most interesting markets in the world. Certain individuals, even inexperienced ones get hooked on trading it. Before opening a Forex account, it is but necessary to be knowledgeable in all the aspects involved in trading.
How To Read Forex Quotes
1. Currency prices
Factors such as economic and political conditions deeply affect currency prices. Political stability, inflation, and interest rates are all factored into the price of any currency. The price of currency can be controlled by governments who flood the market or buy extensively.
2. Volume of FOREX
No force can have dominate the market due to the volume of Forex.Market forces will prevail in the long run, making FOREX one of the most open and fair investment opportunities available.
3. World Currency
Each world currency is given a three letter code which is used in FOREX quotes. The most common currencies are USD (US dollars), EUR (European euros), GBP (United Kingdom pounds), AUD (Australian dollars), JPY (Japanese yen), CHF (Swiss francs) and CAD (Canadian dollars).
4. Foreign exchange prices
Forex quotes can be used to determine prices of foreign exchange. The first currency is the 'base' and the second is the 'quote' currency. In this example: USD/EUR = 0.8419 the currency pair is US dollars and European euros. The base currency (USD) is always at '1' and the quote currency shows how much it costs to buy one unit of the base currency. In this example, 1 US dollar costs 0.8419 euros. Conversely...EUR/USD = 1.1882 ...tells us that it costs 1.1882 US dollars to buy 1 euro. When the price of the quote currency goes up it indicates that the base currency is becoming stronger – one unit of the base currency will buy more of the quote currency. The base currency is made weaker when the quote currency is weak.
5. Central banks
National central banks play an important role in the foreign exchange markets. They try to control the money supply, inflation, and/or interest rates and often have official or unofficial target rates for their currencies. They can use their often substantial foreign exchange reserves, to stabilize the market. Milton Friedman argued that the best stabilization strategy would be for central banks to buy when the exchange rate is too low, and to sell when the rate is too high - that is, to trade for a profit. Nevertheless, central banks do not go bankrupt if they make large losses, like other traders would, and there is no convincing evidence that they do make a profit trading.
The mere expectation or rumor of central bank intervention might be enough to stabilize a currency, but aggressive intervention might be used several times each year in countries with a dirty float currency regime. Central banks do not always achieve their objectives, however. The combined resources of the market can easily overwhelm any central bank. Several scenarios of this nature were seen in the 1992-93 ERM collapse, and in more recent times in South East Asia.
Forex
I think that the Forex market offers a lot of advantages compared to the other types of financial trading. Currency pairs offer a variety of choices, events to react on and the technical analysis is simply beautiful in Forex. But I also like to trade in other markets. Because many Forex brokers also offer gold and oil, I sometimes like to set up long-term positions on these instruments. I also have some portfolio in stocks, but it can hardly be called a real trading because I only trade like once in 3-6 months in stocks. What about you? Do you trade in anything else than currency pairs?
