In order to understand what Forex arbitrage is, it is important to understand what each terms mean. Forex refers to the foreign exchange market, where global currencies are exchanged between individuals or corporations. This exchange is achieved with the help of a bank or brokerage through special accounts. Arbitrage, on the other hand, would refer to buying a commodity at a certain price in one market with the intention to have it resold at a higher price at a different market. In this situation, there will be no added value of the commodity by the trader.
When it comes to arbitrage in the Forex market, a currency is bought from one market with the understanding that it can be sold at a different market at a higher price. Such price differences tend to last only a short while as currencies all over the world gradually makes adaptations to correct each currency to one another to its newest state, just like a set of toppling dominos.
There are basically two types of Forex arbitrage opportunities that you can find. The first one is where multiple trading accounts are used. With this, a trader can take advantage of the difference in currencies each brokerage is offering. A second type of opportunity looks at the use of three different currencies. Each currency is first evaluated as a pair for their difference, and then compared with the other pairs. Sometimes, you will be able to see some difference in one currency’s cost as compared to the other two’s this way. This way, a trader can evaluate which gap is the best opportunity to make use of.
There are software programs available to monitor the market while identifying which trades are most profitable. With such program, the traders will be able to spend less time on trades that are not so profitable as the program can be automated to notify them when a certain set of trades appear profitable. Find the right program to use for the Forex arbitrage and you will reap profits in no time.