Pips 4 Idiots

Posts Tagged ‘Central Banks’

ADVANTAGES TO FOREX TRADING

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

Forex trading is one of the most popular and fastest growing trading methods available. When it comes to active trading, it

is hard to beat currencies and Forex.
In the following are listed some of the benefits of currency trading:

24 hour market
The Forex market is active 24 hours a day because of the overlap between the major markets in Europe, Asia, and the United

States and in the dealing rooms dealers are working in three shifts. Clients have the possibility to place take-profit and

stop-loss orders with brokers for overnight execution. The Forex market opens Sunday 23:00 CET through Friday 23:00 CET,

which gives traders the opportunity to react immediately to market news and hereby determine their own trading hours.

Liquidity
Forex trading has become increasingly popular over the past thirty years. With an average daily volume of $ 1.5 trillion,

Forex is 46 times larger than all the futures markets combined, which makes it the world’s most liquid market.
In the past, Forex trading was largely limited to huge money central banks and other institutional traders. But over the past

few years, technological innovations and the development of online trading platforms, has also made it possible for small

traders to take advantage of the significant benefits of trading Forex.

Leverage
Margin ratios associated with trading currencies are typically higher than those associated with trading equities. This is

primarily due to the higher levels of liquidity within the currency market. Margin trading allows FX market participants to

trade much larger amounts than they have deposited. For example, with a margin ratio of 20:1 and a deposit of 10,000 USD, an

investor can trade amounts of up to 200,000 USD. Trading in large volumes allows investors to take advantage of even small

price movements.

Low spreads
Currency trading offers spreads that are much lower than the ones in the equities market (especially in after-hour markets).

Historically, tight currency spreads of 2 pips have only been available for transaction sizes of 1 million USD or higher, but

today these tighter spreads are also available for investors trading smaller transaction sizes.

No commissions or transaction costs
A currency transaction typically incurs no commission or transaction fee besides the quoted spread. This is in stark contrast

to the equity market, where commissions for stock trades range from 8 to 70 USD or even higher, in addition to the quoted

spread.

Profit potential regardless of market direction
An investor with an open position is by definition long one currency and short another. If a trader believes a currency is

about to depreciate, he/she sells that currency short and goes long another currency. In the currency markets, selling or

shorting is a necessary component of completing a trade. Profit potential exists in the FX market regardless of whether a

trader is buying or selling and regardless of whether the market is moving up or down. In the US equity markets, short-

selling is less common and more difficult to transact due to different regulations and market rules. This makes it more

difficult to make a profit when the stock market and/or the share price for a particular stock is going down.

Equal access to market information
Professional traders and analysts in the equity market have an important competitive advantage in comparison with the

individual trader as they have access to important corporate information, such as earning estimates and press releases,

before it is released to the general public. This is in stark contrast to the Forex market, where pertinent information is

equally accessible to everybody, ensuring that all market participants can take advantage of market moving news as soon as it

becomes available.

No Restrictions
No restrictions apply to the Forex market and there are very low account balances. This means that traders can enjoy profit

opportunities in all market conditions.