Forex Education: essential for the novice investor.

Forex Education: essential for the novice investor.

Forex education is often taken lightly. However, due to the complexities of the Forex market, new investors must review all tools at their disposal to improve their understanding of this profit opportunity. Whether one is a novice investor or an experienced trader in another market, it is essential to examine all tools available for self education. These days there are a number of solutions that help investors move quickly along the learning curve.

Forex Education: Basics

Forex education or training courses can be broadly divided into two categories:
Online courses: This mode of teaching is basically conducted by instructors who provide various sources of learning, including eBooks, PowerPoint presentations and trading simulators. For a beginner, this form of Forex education is invaluable. People can self-pace the teaching and can learn from the comfort of their own homes. This is also the more inexpensive form of Forex education. The downside here is that a personal teacher is not available at one’s disposal and one-on-one discussions may not take place.

Individual training: This mode of teaching is much more specific and more appropriate for traders with a basic understanding of the Forex market. In this form of Forex education, an assigned mentor (usually a successful trader) spends most of the time teaching via the placement of actual trades. These mentors are also likely to review strategies and risk management techniques related to the Forex market.

Forex Education: what to avoid

It is essential to stay away from presumptuous claims. Avoid getting carried away by courses that make bold claims like “guaranteed profits” and “no way to lose,” since no one knows for sure what would happen in the foreign exchange market.

Forex Education: what to consider

There are two things that an investor should consider in choosing a Forex education provider:
Reputation: an investor/trader needs to gauge the reputation of the course provider. Therefore, it is advisable to select courses that have established track records.
Certification offered: established training courses are certified by a regulatory body or a financial institution. Some of the most popular regulatory boards that certify courses in the US are:
1. Chicago Board of Trade
2. Securities and Exchange Commission
3. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
4. Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Although Forex education cannot be completed merely via currency trading tutorials, these are invaluable sources of information. These tutorials help learn the basic principles of trading, so that an investor can be better positioned in the Forex market.

Easy-Forex Education
Easy-Forex understands that educated traders will stay with them longer, so they take the subject of training their customers seriously. Their online platform has a Learn centre where customers can find a library of articles explaining Forex, online videos on how to trade on their platform, a glossary of hundreds of Forex terms and an eBook Guide to Trading to download. One-on-one training via phone or their online Chat provides the personal touch that few other Forex platforms offer. And for the more experienced trader, personal dealers offer even more advanced information and training.

Day Trading: Forex vs Stocks

Day Trading: Forex vs Stocks

There are people who try to raise their profits by capitalizing on a small appreciation in currency values. Forex day trading possesses superior liquidity, with the foreign currency exchange market being the largest market in the world. Stock liquidity is, however, volatile, since it reduces after the trading hours. There is no such problem with the Forex market, as it is open 24-hours a day.
The key benefit of Forex day trading over day trading in stocks is that instead of traders investing and then waiting for many months or even years for the stock values to appreciate, they can gain from the daily rise and fall of currency values.
Forex Day Trading: the process

To be able to take part in day trading in the Forex market, a trader first needs to open an account. The amount required to open an account is different for different companies. There are a lot of agencies that provide brokers who act as mediators for either a firm or an individual in the market. Brokers are the people who educate firms and individuals on the way through the foreign exchange market. A broker is primarily focused on assisting traders to get through the market before there is a significant loss.

A few Forex agencies provide traders with software that assist in Forex trading. This software exhibits the ups and downs of currency values via chart diagrams, graphs and data flow diagrams. The software is extremely efficient in depicting the current statistics for the currencies in question. A Forex day trade usually involves currencies being traded in fixed pairs, with the key currencies traded being dollars, pounds, euros and yen. In Forex day trading, there are no commissions being paid to brokers and no exchange fees, and the transaction fee is fairly low.
Unlike the market for stocks, there are no restrictions for selling the currencies short. This means that as a Forex trader, one can make money as easily in the bear market as in a bull market.

Factors that Cause Fluctuations in the Currency Market

Factors that Cause Fluctuations in the Currency Market

The currency (Forex) market is subject to frequent fluctuations. The first question that comes to mind is “What causes these fluctuations?” The primary cause of these fluctuations is, of course, a shift in demand and supply. But, what causes this shift?

The Currency Market: Factors that Cause Fluctuations

The demand and supply pattern in the currency market is primarily governed by the following broad category of factors:
Economic Data Economic data of a country, such as gross domestic product (GDP), industrial production (IP), consumer price index (CPI), unemployment numbers, Manufacturing Index of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), retail sales, international trade and housing statistics, directly impacts the value of the currency. This data is regularly released by a government or a private organization that keeps track of these economic performances. This economic data reflects a country's economic health. If a country’s economy is on the downswing, the value of its currency is most likely to fall vis-à-vis the currencies of other nations.
Interest Rates Any change in the interest rates of a country directly impacts the value of its currency. If a country raises its interest rates, the demand for and, consequently, the value of its currency will rise in relation to other currencies. When a country lowers its interest rates, people will start earning lower interest on their deposits and investments, reducing the incentive of holding this currency. They will then tend to buy other currencies of countries that offer higher interest rates. This will reduce the demand for the particular currency.
News A change in the nation’s political conditions and other such news could lead to severe fluctuations in the value of the currency. If a country’s government modifies its trade policies such that they adversely impact traders and businessmen, the demand for the currency would decline immediately. A national calamity, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, can have a negative impact on the value of a currency.

Market Sentiments The way people perceive a national or international event has a direct bearing on the currency market. Even if an event occurring in a country is not of a high risk category and might not impact the country’s currency, traders may go ahead and sell the currency for a safer investment.
Keeping a check on all these factors can help investors benefit from a profit-making opportunity or save them from making losses. Easy-Forex offers trade tools that can help investors keep track of the factors that have a direct bearing on the currency market.

Forex Day Trading: unique and opportunities.

Day trading in the foreign exchange or Forex market provides significant opportunities, as compared to the other market segments. A day trader is a trader who will often make several trades per day. Forex day trading involves traders buying/selling currencies on a daily basis. Forex day trading is sometimes simply referred to as normal forex trading.

Forex Investments

Forex Investments

More and more people are choosing to enlarge their investment portfolio with foreign exchange trading. Forex investments are considered high risk but with potential for high profits.

Unlike stocks, Forex is mostly a short-term market with deals opening and closing within one day or even just minutes. The currency trader may have multiple deals open without encountering broker’s fees as Forex is primarily commission free. Forex market makers who offer foreign exchange trading to customers make their money from the spread – the difference between the buy and sell price of a currency.

With three trillion dollars transacted a day, the volume traded in the Forex market is 40 times the size of NASDAQ. The rise of e-commerce on the internet has seen the popularity of Forex as investments grow substantially in just a few years. With the Forex markets located around the globe, online currency traders have the opportunity to trade 24-hours a day. Trading hours are from Monday morning Sydney time, until Friday afternoon New York time.

It is a liquid market as there is always a buyer and a seller. Profit is possible regardless of whether a particular currency is going up or down. The volume of the Forex market and its constant flow around the world means that it would be very difficult for one person or organization to influence the market.

Forex often has higher margins than stocks with up to 1:200 being offered rather than just 1:2. Margin trading leverages every dollar you have by effectively ‘lending’ you money to take advantage of the small but constant fluctuations that occur in foreign exchange.

Forex traders have different reasons for entering the market. The combination of constant but small fluctuations in Forex rates attracts traders with differing strategies, whether they are looking for long term hedging opportunities or using leverage for short term gains.

Here are some of the key points that make Forex an attractive investment for many:
• 24 hours, 5 days a week trading
• Margin trading with high leverages offered
• Low minimum deposits means trading with small amounts of money is possible
• The Forex market is too vast to be manipulated
• It is a liquid market where there is always a buyer and a seller
• The Forex market is decentralized; it is not conducted on an exchange, and therefore takes place over-the-counter worldwide via web or phone.
Investing in Forex is risky and may not be suitable for every investor. However, with margin trading, Forex offers large potential profits relative to the trader’s capital (initial) investment.

Currency Exchange
Currency exchange plays an important role when currency is traded between two countries, individuals, governments or organizations. This currency exchange between two currencies also denotes the value of one currency against the other. Until recently currency trading was limited to the big investors, the banking conglomerates and the large multinationals. In the recent years with the development of new technologies, currency exchange has opened doors for all to participate in the currency exchange trade.
Currency exchange, better known as the Forex market, is just one more benefit of an expanding global market. The relative value of a currency fluctuates depending on international investors and visitors, who purchase goods and services from a country apart from theirs and hence exchange their domestic currency to the purchasers' country in return of goods and services.
Currency exchange has many benefits over equity trading like the stock exchange. The spreads for currency exchange are low, which in return makes the cost to the currency trader very low as well. With the evolution of the electronic economy, online Forex trading companies have started to offer services to traders around the globe. Today, anyone having access to a computer and an internet connection can easily trade currencies. But what is important is the experience and analysis to succeed in the Forex game.
The currency exchange market is very volatile, which implies the trader involved in currency trade can generates big returns, but can also lose. The trade or the exchange of currencies is an important aspect of the nation’s financial growth. The currency exchange market operates round the clock 365 days apart from holidays.
One needs to bear a few things in mind when currency exchange is conducted. One must always buy a currency whose value is low and sell when the currency's value is high. The purchase process could be a shorter or a longer duration depending upon the market situations and study conducted.

There are many educational sites which help in understanding Forex trade or currency exchange. Easy-Forex provides comprehensive training for the currency trader. They have compiled a Starter pack which is inclusive of Live Training, Free eBook, Video Guides, and the inside viewer. The live Training can either be done by telephone or by chat on the Easy-Forextrading platform.

Forex Rates

Forex Rates

Foreign exchange rates are the buy and sell price of the world’s currencies. Forex rates are constantly changing. These changes are usually small movements unless the market is going through a particularly volatile period.

Currency rates
Currencies on the foreign exchange market are traded in pairs. When you buy a particular currency you are selling another. The price of buying one currency and selling the other is the rate of exchange or Forex rate. The rate is affected by supply and demand. The higher the demand for a currency means the price for it also rises. For example, looking at the EUR/USD currency pair, if more people are buying (for example) the US dollar then there is increased demand and therefore less supply in the marketplace. This pushes up the value of the dollar against the euro.

Gold forex rates
Commodities like gold, silver and oil are exchanged in the Forex market in the same way as currencies. They are commonly traded against the US dollar. Often (though not always), gold and the USD have an inverse relationship – when one drops the other rises and vice versa. Because of this relationship, gold as an investment is often used as a hedge against the USD.

Forex rates and the market maker
Forex market makers provide online platforms for the individual to trade currencies. As a market maker, Easy-Forex has real-time rates that are constantly updated to accurately reflect the current Forex rates in the market. Customized currency rates tables allow Forex traders to select which currencies they wish to have visible as they trade. A cross currency matrix shows up-to-the-minute Forex rates of all currencies available for trade on the Easy-Forex platform.

Making the most of the volatility forex rates
The Forex market goes through periods of volatility where Forex rates can make dramatic shifts. These times offer great opportunities for Forex currency trading. But these sharp shifts in Forex rates can also be risky. Correctly anticipating the rise or fall of a particular currency and its subsequent purchase or sale will lead to profit. However, many factors should be taken into consideration. Why is the currency on the rise? What has happened in the market to trigger this rise? How long is it likely to last? Is it a correction – a move back to what is a more realistic rate of exchange for this particular currency pair? The trader should consider these questions and make well-informed trading decisions. To keep their traders abreast of the financial markets, Easy-Forex offers many trade tools.
Be informed of forex rates

Prudent trader’s stay informed of the financial markets. Easy-Forex has daily and weekly outlooks that review Forex rates and also forecast the coming day or week’s rates. Live news feeds from Reuters and a financial calendar of economic indicators are just some of the tools available. One of the more innovative features of the Easy-Forex trading platform is the SMS Alert Service. Traders may sign up to this service and set Forex rate alerts. This allows the trader to walk away from their computer and be alerted on their mobile phone when a particular exchange rate is reached in the market.