The Big Picture of Currency Trading

Online currency trading (also known as FOREX, for foreign exchange) has all the benefits that a trader could want. With the 24 hour, 6 days a week marketplace, you can trade before work, during work, or after work. Whenever you see fit. The day begins in New Zealand and follows the sun through Asia, into Europe, and then the US. Then it starts all over again.

The FOREX market is the most liquid market in the world. That means that a trader can enter or exit the currency market whenever they want. With no commissions and no gaps, or lock limits, and no daily trading limit either. This market is bigger in daily volume than all of the other stock, bond, and futures markets of the world combined! And then some!

Leverage of 100 to 1 is considered normal when currency trading. Compare that to the 2 to 1 margin accounts at your stock brokerage. Plus, there's no margin interest expense either. But you better have your risk management system in place because, remember, leverage cuts both ways.

You've heard the saying,the trend is your friend. Well guess what the best trending market is? That's right, the FOREX market. Central banks and governments set their own monetary policy. Take the Fed for example. They don't (usually) raise interest rates today and then next week lower them. And then raise them again. No, they tend to gradually, over time, raise them, month by month, until they feel they are correctly positioned. And then they lower them, month by month, or quarter by quarter, whichever. That gradual tightening and loosening over an extended period of time is what creates those wonderful trends.

When you are trading currencies online, remember to trade with the trend. And when the trend ends, get out. It's that simple, just not that easy. Then start looking for the trend to reverse itself. You need to have no hang ups about being long or short when you trade currencies. At any given time, approximately a third of the currency pairs are are going up, a third are going down, and the other third are going sideways. So don't be afraid to go short. If you are coming from the stock market, there are no short squeezes to worry about, no one uptick rule, or any other crazy rules. You just decide to buy or sell; that's it.

When you trade currencies online, they are always bought and sold in pairs. An example of a currency pair is the popularly traded EUR/USD. This is the Euro vs. the U.S. Dollar. The currency on the left is called the base currency. The one on the right is the cross currency

If you buy the EUR/USD currency pair, you are buying euros, and at the same time, selling dollars. You would do this if you think the Euro is going to rise in value and/or you think the Dollar is going to fall in value.

If you sell the EUR/USD currency pair, you are selling euros, and at the same time, buying dollars. You would do this if you think the Euro is going to decline in value and/or you think the Dollar is going to rise in value.

Currency trading has so many benefits and advantages to it, it is no wonder why it is the fastest growing segment of the online trading community. The FOREX market offers superior potential to realize profits in any market condition or business cycle, making online currency trading an ideal diversification element in your total investment portfolio.