Forex Exchange Rate



             


Saturday, May 3, 2008

Forex: Online Trading Safety: Why Some Trading Experts Risk Their Own Money When Teaching This Important Trading Tip

Remember this important online trading safety tip: The markets will not keep your money safe. Though this is a well known fact, many people find it quite hard to understand. They believe that, no matter what, the market and GOOD FOREX will ALWAYS COME BACK, as though this were a law.

But, there`s no such law. A good online trading safety tips is to remember that forex don`t always come back, and neither do markets. If you want to think about the market in terms of laws of nature, the best one is the law of gravity, specifically:

++ What goes up must come down.

This is especially true for forex and sectors that have risen extremely quickly. You can protect your capital and your profits from this natural market law by setting stops.

A stop is an order you place to sell or buy a position you own if it hits a specified price. It`s called a stop because it stops you from losing any more money on the position. If you`ve sold short, you can place a stop order to buy to cover if the stock rises to a specified price. Stops are not complicated to use, and they are an integral part of trading success.

When we use the word STOP, we`re referring to a stop loss order. This is an order that directs your broker to sell a position you hold if the stock drops to a specified price. If you`ve sold short, you can place a stop loss buy to cover order to get out of the position if it rises to a specified price. Once the stop is triggered, it`s immediately executed as a market order.

Here`s an online trading safety example. Let`s say you buy a stock at 50 dollars a share. You have reason to think it will rise, but you also realize it`s a risky trade. You know that if the stock drops below 48.50, it means there`s trouble with the trade and you`ll want out. So, after buying the stock, you place another order: a stop sell order at 48.40.

This tells the broker that if there is market action at 48.40, or below, to sell your shares immediately in the form of a market order. They`ll be sold at the current bid, whatever that is. This will happen automatically, so you won`t have to watch the stock closely. It also means you won`t be tempted to hold on longer, hoping that the stock will go back up.

In general, there are two types of stop orders: stop loss and stop limit. However, some brokers use slightly different names for various order types, and may not offer all order types to their clients. I`ve already described the stop loss order.

A stop limit order is an order to sell a position at a specific price and no lower than that price, if the stock drops to that price or to buy to cover a stock sold short at a specific price and no higher than that price if it rises to that price. Once the stop is triggered, the order is executed only if it can be executed at the limit price or better, it becomes a limit order. In my opinion, you shouldn`t use stop limit orders, it needlessly increases your risk. If a stock`s price is dropping fast, chances are good that a stop limit order won`t execute at all.

Let`s say the stock from the earlier example does drop. It hits 48.40, and the stop is triggered. The stop order becomes a market order to sell. This means that it will execute immediately at the current bid price. The same principles apply to stops on short positions. If you sell a stock short at 13 dollars, expecting it to go down, you should place a buy to cover order at, say, 13.75. If the stock suddenly rises sharply, you`re protected and you can always re short the stock at its peak price later.

Let`s go back to the stock the trader bought for 50 dollars. If the stock is falling slowly, the market order may execute at 48.40, slightly lower, or even, occasionally, slightly higher. If it`s falling quickly, it could execute a little below 48.40. If the stock is falling very quickly, it could execute well below 48.40.

The possibility that they could be stopped out of a position far below the trigger price is one reason traders may avoid using stops. Although this could happen, it`s better than the alternative, to keep holding the position while it goes even lower. Besides, in most cases the position will be stopped out quite near the trigger price. In addition to fearing a bad execution price, some people are afraid that the position will start to go back up immediately after their stop sell order`s been executed.

A stock may occasionally bounce right at the point where you set your stop, as a random occurrence. But, the smart trader weighs this rare frustration against all the times he`ll save much more money by using stops to get out of losing positions. Think of it as the cost of insurance. Just don`t forget this last online trading safety tip; using stops as insurance will occasionally cost you a little, but it will save you many times more in the long run, and you don`t often get a chance to insure against a law of nature.

Who Else Wants To Learn A Simple, Step-By-Step System For Generating Quick & Easy Profits, Trading Forex? - FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME - http://www.forexcurrencytradingsystems.com/index.php

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, February 9, 2008

"How To" Start Trading The Forex Market? (Part 5)

What are *PIPS* ?

Currencies are traded on a price/ point (pip) system. Each currency pair has its own pip value.

When you see a FOREX price quote, you'll see something listed like this:

EUR/USD 1.2210/13

Explanation:

a) If you want to BUY the EUR/USD ( meaning you BUY EUROS and SELL US$ ) you buy 100,000 EUROS and you SELL 122,130 US$, or in other words you receive 122,130 US$ for 100,000 EUROS.

B) If you want to SELL the EUR/USD ( meaning you SELL EUROS and BUY US$ ) you buy 122,100 US$ and sell 100,000 EUROS, or in other words you receive 100,000 EUROS for 122,100 US$.

The difference between the bid and the ask price is referred to as the spread. In the example above, the spread is 3 or 3 pips.

Since the US dollar is the centerpiece of the FOREX market, it is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes. In the "Majors", this includes USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD. For these currencies and many others, quotes are expressed as a unit of $1 USD per the second currency quoted in the pair.

For example a quote of USD/CHF 1.3000 means that fore one U.S. dollar you receive 1.30 Swiss Francs. or in other words, you receive 1.30 Swiss Franc for each 1 US$.

When the U.S. dollar is the base unit and a currency quote goes up, it means the dollar has appreciated in value and the other currency has weakened. If the USD/CHF quote above increases to 1.3050 the dollar is stronger because it will now buy more Swiss Franc than before.

The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). In these cases, you might see a quote such as EUR/USD 1.2080, meaning that for EURO you receive 1.2080 U.S. Dollars.

In these three currency pairs, where the U.S. dollar is not the base rate, a rising quote means a weakening dollar, as it now takes more U.S. dollars to equal one Euro, British pound or an Australian dollar.

In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, that increases the value of the base currency. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.

Currency pairs that do not involve the U.S. dollar are called cross currencies, but the calculation is the same. For example, a quote of EUR/JPY 134.50 signifies that one Euro is equal to 134.50 Japanese yen.

HOW TO BUY ( going " LONG ")and SELL ( going " SHORT ") in the FOREX Market?

Keep in mind 2 very important rules:

RULE # 1) Cut your LOOSING trades and let your WINNING trades RUN

YOU WILL HAVE LOSING TRADES. Every FOREX trader has. The secret is, that a consistent, disciplined trader, at the end of the day, adds up more winning trades than losing trades.

When you and see on your charts, without any doubt, that you are in a losing trade, don't keep losing money. Most of the novice traders are lowering their stop loss just to "prove they are right" or "hoping that the market will reverse". 99% of these trades, are ending up with more losses. Most of the profitable trades are usually "right" immediately.

Remember, smart traders know there are many other opportunities. CUT your losses short and compound those winning positions.

RULE 2) NEVER EVER trade FOREX without placing a Stop Loss Order.

PLACE a STOP order, right along with your ENTRY order, via your online trading station, to prevent potential losses.

Before initiating any trade, you have to calculate at what point ( price) you would be wrong, because the market changed direction, and would want to cut your losses.

To make profits, in the FOREX, a trader can enter the market with a *buy position* (known as going "long") or a *sell position* (known as going "short").

As an example let's assume you've been studying the EURO. The EURO is paired first with the U.S. dollar or USD.

Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that the EURO will rice in the next 2 weeks, So you buy the EUR/USD pair meaning you will simultaneously buy EUROS, and SELL dollars).

You open up your excellent trading station software (provided to you for free by Fenix Capital Management, LLC www.fenixcapitalmanagement.com ) and you see that the EUR/USD pair is trading at:

EUR/USD: 1.2010/1.2013

As you you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a *buy position* in the market.

As an example, lets say you bought one lot EUR/USD at 1.2013. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.

To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:

REMEMBER Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).

HOW TO CALCULATE PROFIT OR LOSS?

The Profit Calculations, on the Short-sell trade scenario below, may seem somewhat complicated if you've never been in the FOREX market before, but this process is continually calculated through your broker trade station (software). I show you this process below so you can SEE how a PROFIT might occur.

The current bid/ask price for USD/JPY is 107.50/107.54, meaning you can buy $1 US for 107.54 YEN, or sell $1 US for 107.50 YEN.

Suppose you think that the US Dollar (USD) is overvalued against the YEN (JPY). To execute this strategy, you would sell Dollars (simultaneously buying YEN), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.

Your trade would be the following: you sell 1 lot USD (US $100,000) and you buy 1 lot JPY (10,754.000 YEN). (Remember, at 0.25 % margin, your initial margin deposit for this trade would be $ 250.)

As you expected, USD/JPY falls to 106.50/106.54, meaning you can now buy $1 US for $106.54 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 106.50.

Since you're short dollars (and are long YEN), you must now buy dollars and sell back the YEN to realize any profit.

You buy US $100,000 at the current USD/JPY rate of 106.54, and receive 10,654,000 YEN. Since you originally bought (paid for) 10,754,000 YEN, your profit is 100,000 YEN.

To calculate your P&L in terms of US dollars, divide 100,000 by the current USD/JPY rate of 106.54

Total profit = US $938.61

Veteran Trader Martin Maier is the Founder of Fenix Capital Management LLC He is the developer of various futures and commodities trading programs and his systems have been ranked and rated by various large American Investment Profile Rating Companies such as STAR and MAR.

Labels: , , , ,

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Trading Forex To Advance Your Financial Position

Everyday, currencies are traded in an international foreign exchange market, otherwise known as the forex market, with the main marketplaces (otherwise known as bourses) existing in the world?s financial centes New York, London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Zurich. Historically, the only way to participate was from the trading floor of one of these bourses, but today, people can trade forex from anywhere through a secure internet connection and a PC.

Today?s traders operate in a global network, taking positions in the market and making investment decisions based on either relative value between two currencies, or a particular currency?s actual price. Currency value fluctuations are constantly renegotiated through trading activity, and this activity, and the corresponding currency values are also indicators of the levels of currency supply. Forex traders have the aim of using the smallest amount of one currency, say the US dollar, to purchase another currency like the British Pound. If supply of the pound lessens in a busy market, it will cost more dollars to buy pounds, and the forex trader hopes to sell their pounds at a higher than their purchase price.

An example of market behaviour greater demand for the Euro might indicate a weakening supply. Low supply and increased demand will drive the price of the Euro up against other currencies like the dollar, until the price better reflects what traders are prepared to pay when short supply exists. Another way to look at this situation is this higher demand means it will cost more dollars to buy the Euro, which equates to a weakening of the dollar in comparison. Analysis of situations such as in this example forms the basis for a trader?s investment decisions, and they will purchase or sell currency accordingly.

This should be remembered, as while many see the foreign exchange market as the vehicle for converting their home currency while travelling abroad, many others choose to use the market to advance their financial position and secure their future.Jay Moncliff is the founder of http://www.goforexonline.info a website specialized on Forex Online, resources and articles. This site provides updated information on Forex Online. For more info on Forex Online visit: http://www.goforexonline.info

Labels: , , , , ,

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Learn Forex Trading - a guide for beginners

 One can learn forex trading as easily as one would like to learn other subjects or train in other professions. The criteria for learning forex trading is an analytical / logical bent of mind and some number crunching abilities. Reading specialized books on the subject matter, enrolling for college and other programs, which specifically teach one to do forex dealing, one can understand Forex trading. Still other ways are through the Internet and training under a forex dealer / professional. Essentially the forex market comprises of currencies, which are bought and sold according to certain parameters.

There are major currencies in the market, which are trade and are the most liquid. These are US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. Then there are other currencies, which are not so liquid. However currency trade is done in almost all currencies across the world. The forex market is truly a twenty-four market with only a minor break during the weekend. It opens in Sydney, then in Tokyo and then in London and New York in that order according to the way that the Earth rotates and the sun rises. Therefore forex brokers and investors can choose their time of operation.

Essentially it's a matter of selling and buying the currencies. The goal is very simple, that of making a profit in the currency transactions that you participate in. The currency market operates like most other markets and therefore for many traders 'migrating ' form other trades such as stock market can be quite simple.

Essentially one can learn forex transactions by creating a virtual account. The first lesson is that currency trade is done in pairs only like Euros / US$, Japanese Yen/ Canadian Dollars etc. When you have set up a virtual account with the amount of initial investment, keep the following pointers in mind

According to your investment strategy and time frame, choose the currency pair best suited to your needs. Some currency pairs can be very aggressive and the changes can be quite volatile. While others may not show any movement. Therefore choose the currency pair with care.
Decide the time frame. Do you want to spend a few minutes on the forex trade or you want to go the whole hog and devote the entire week to the forex trade (swing trade)
Have an exit plan ready before you start the currency transactions. Know when to place your 'stops' and do so accordingly.
No risk no gain. Be willing to take risk. You can take calculated risks in order to earn good profits. Know whether you want to be an aggressive trader or are you happy being a safe trader.
Read and analyze the news and the technical data that is generated on the currencies that you deal in to understand the market conditions better.

Of course you can grasp the modus operandi of the forex trade. But for doing the real thing, you need to be in the forex transaction market for real.
One can learn forex trading as easily as one would like to learn other subjects or train in other professions. For in depth information visit http://www.forex-made-easy.biz/learn-forex-trading.html

Labels: , , , ,