There are so many details that are important to know that an article this length cannot even begin to touch currency trading for dummies adequately. This is a broad brush stroke of some really basic information that will hopefully give you some ideas on further information that you need. Currency trading is most commonly known as Forex. Forex stands for Foreign Exchange Market. This market, unlike other stock markets, is open, active, and running twenty-four hours a day. The more that you can learn about Forex and the intricacies of trading, the more successful you will be.
In it’s simplest terms, Currency traders (traders), bet on currency exchange rates between specific countries. These rates can change by the minute and are based on many factors. The Forex is a completely level playing field. No one gets information ahead of time. Successful traders have systems and indicators that help them to recognize a change in direction for a certain currency and act on it proactively. It takes time and study to learn how to develop this speculative talent.
There are many environmental impacts that affect the currency exchange rates for countries. Wars, arms, changes in the economy of a country, death of leaders, etc. Just about anything that affects the people in a country affect the value of the currency in that country.
Predicting fluctuations in the rate and deciding which pairs will result in the biggest gains is the main goal of traders. “Pairs” are when one currency is traded against another country’s currency. Major pairs that are traded all involve the US dollar. A “cross currency pair” is a pair that does not involve the US dollar. For instance the most active cross currency pairs are JPY, GBP, and EUR. An example of a cross currency pair is GBP/JPY (British pound/Japanese Yen).
If you though that the way that the currency is written and listed wasn’t that important, think again. The stronger currency is traditionally shown on the left. When you see EUR/USD, it means that the Euro is stronger than the US dollar. The currency that is listed on the left is the “base currency.” Whatever happens on the left creates the opposite action on the right. So, if you buy 100 EUR, you automatically sell 100 USD.
“Secondary currency” or “counter currency” is the currency on the right. This currency will determine your gains or losses when you trade. For instance if you buy 100 EUR and simultaneously sell 100 USD, you have made +50. Why? Because the EUR is worth 100 and the USD is worth 50.
There are thousands of these trades taking place every minute of every day. The rates move and fluctuate very quickly. Your success as a trader depends on your ability to read market fluctuations and make trades proactively. You will find pairs that are extremely high risk and pairs that are very low risk. Knowing the how much risk you can afford to take will determine which pairs you focus on in trading.
As we said earlier, there is a lot to learn to be able to start trading successfully. There are numerous classes available on Forex trading and many blogs by successful traders that you will find helpful. When looking at tools to make trading more consistent, you will want to look at the historical gains and losses of the method you are looking at. Following a system or method to see how it actually acts when applied to the current market will also help you to select the system that will be most helpful for you.
If you want to make a little extra money from home you may want to get a currency trading for dummies guide, so that you can start to do some currency trading on the side.