Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Online Forex Trading Profits


Another example of an online Forex trade: If you buy EUR/USD, this means you are buying euros, and simultaneously are selling dollars. Your expectation therefore is that the euro will appreciate (go up) relative to the US dollar.
If you believe that the US economy will weaken and this will hurt the US dollar, you would execute a buy EUR/USD order. By doing so you will buy euros in the expectation that the currency will appreciate against the US dollar. If you believe that the US economy is strong and the euro will weaken against the US dollar you would execute a sell EUR/USD order. By doing so you have sold euros in the expectation that they will depreciate against the US dollar. More information concerning online Forex trading is available at Forex Floor

Understanding and Trading Forex Currency Pairs


Any Forex trading transaction is made of the buying of one currency and the simultaneous selling of another currency. The two Forex trading currencies being traded are called the currency pair. A currency quote is made of these two pairs of Forex trading currencies, situated together and divided by a line (for example, EUR/USD).
There are various Forex currency pairs to choose from. These are divided into major and minor currencies. Major currencies are the seven most frequently traded currencies, which include the USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF, CAD and AUD. All other currencies are called minor currencies, and include the NZD (the New Zealand dollar) and the ZAR (the South African rand).

Major Currencies and Major Participants of the Forex Trading Market


In the Forex trading market, you have several currencies to choose from. Most Forex trading deals are done using the major currencies. These are the seven most frequently traded currencies.
The major currencies include:
USD – United States Dollar
EUR – The European union Euro
JPY – The Japanese Yen
GBP – The UK Pound
CHF – The Swiss Franc
CAD – The Canadian Dollar
AUD – The Australian Dollar
All currencies other than the major currencies are called minors
Trading these major currencies are banks, companies, investment firms, hedge funds and Forex trading brokers.
Banks do a lot of the trading themselves. These include trades that are done for the bank's clients and ones that are done for the bank itself. Banks can trade huge amounts of major currencies, depending on the size and funding of the bank.

Forex Economic Indicators


The execution of fundamental analysis in the Forex market is done through the use of economic indicators. These indicators point to the state of some economical factors in the country whose currency you wish to trade with.
Economic indicators are published by various sections of the government and private companies. These statistics are analyzed by market investors to predict the direction of the Forex trading market. Forex economic indicators are published at fixed time intervals, and are followed by any serious online Forex trader.
Since so many people are tuned to use them, Forex economic indicators have a large impact on prices of currencies of the Forex trading market. Most traders do not use fundamental analysis because economic indicators seem difficult. This however is wrong because following simple guides can help you stay updated with the important Forex economic indicators easily.

Fundamental Analysis Vs Technical Analysis in the Forex Trading Market


The main difference between fundamental vs technical analysis of the Forex trading market is that, while fundamental analysis uses economic, political, social and other factors that affect supply and demand of the trading Forex market to foresee price movements, technical analysis uses mathematical and graphical charts of previous market action, in order to analyze the Forex trading market.
The basic difference between Forex fundamental and technical analysis is therefore that:
- Forex Fundamental analysis uses various factors that influence supply and demand to predict the currency change.
- Technical analysis uses charts of previous currency change to predict the currency change.

Major Forex Economic Indicators


The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - The sum of goods and services produced by domestic or foreign companies.
Industrial Production - A measure of the production change, industrial capacity and resources of a country's factories, mines and utilities.
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) - A monthly index of a country's manufacturing conditions, including new orders, supplier delivery times, inventories, prices, employment, export orders, and import orders.

Starting to use Forex economic indicators


To get started, you should first keep a log of all the important Forex economic indicators' release dates. Keep a log or make a subscription to one of the economic journals, so you'll know the most important factors of that time. If you are trading in JPY, the Forex economic indicators need to be relevant to the currency type, of course.
Each economic indicator tells you about a different aspect of the economy, and this should be translated in turn into the predicted movement of the currency price. Make sure you understand which aspect the indicator is about. For example, know that the GDP measures the growth of the economy while the PPI measures inflation. Don't worry, with some experience this will come naturally.