Forex Introduction

What is forex?

The simplest definition of foreign exchange is the exchange of one currency for another. 

The foreign exchange market allows companies, banks and individuals to buy and sell foreign currencies. Unlike other financial markets, the foreign exchange market has no single location – trading is done globally via telephone and computer links. The Forex market is huge: the trading volume is in excess of 3.0 trillion USD per day, providing the greatest liquidity to investors.

In the past small investors have had limited access to the lucrative forex market. The Interbank market is no longer the exclusive domain of large players. Technological leaps has opened up this exciting market to small speculators. Real-time Interbank dealing rates allow the trader to place a buy or sell order and see it executed within a fraction of a second.

NOTE: As Forex Trading is not conducted on a regulated exchange one must take cognisance of the additional risks, and speculation in the foreign exchange market should only be conducted with funds that if lost, will not significantly impact on one's personal or institutions' financial well being.

There are always buyers and sellers in the forex market. The market absorbs trading volumes. A trader is never stuck in a position due to lack of market interest, volume and/or liquidity.

How does Forex compare with other financial markets?

The Forex market is open 24 hours a day, 5.5 days a week. Because of the decentralized clearing of trades and overlap of major markets in Asia, London and the United States, the market remains open and liquid throughout the day and overnight. Most other markets are dictated by the time zones of their trading locations.

There are no restrictions on short selling and stop orders in Forex as there are in the other financial markets. 

One 24-hour a day consistent margin rate allows Forex traders to leverage their capital more efficiently with as high as 100-to-one leverage. Higher leverage
could mean greater profits, however, a high leverage is subject to higher risk and could generate greater losses.

With a start up requirement of $2500 for a standard account and $250 for a mini account, Forex trading is much more accessible than other markets with high margin rates and huge capital requirements.

New Clients

Register for a free demo trail on our software and receive the following:

• Free 30 day demo trading account  Demo Trading
• Free charts
• Free technical analysis
• Free real time support
• Free training with a Standard Live Account
• Free Getting Started E-Book
• Free training module with every practice account