Introduction To Forex

The FOREX or Foreign Exchange market is not a “place”. Rather, it is the collection of currency traders around the world. One of the primary concerns of any traveler is money. Currency is required to pay for goods and services anywhere in the world. But this doesn’t mean just any currency. Travelers are required in most cases to exchange the currency of their country for the currency of the country in which they are travelling. The same principle occurs on a larger scale between international businesses.

This need to exchange currencies forms the basis of the Forex market, and makes it the biggest financial market in the world (trading the equivalent of around 2 trillion US dollars every day). The exciting thing about the Forex market is that there really is no one central trading location. All transactions occur electronically across the globe at all hours of the day. Introduction To Forex

Forex Trading Methods:

The spot market. In the spot market, currencies are bought and sold. The price of any given foreign currency depends upon many factors, but is essentially dependent upon supply and demand. Supply and demand are affected by political and economic conditions, interest rates, and speculation on future performance of a particular currency. An actual spot deal is a transaction in which one party hands over a specific amount of one currency, and in return receives a quantity of another currency at an exchange-rate value that both parties agree upon. The idea being that one party or another feels that the currency they are holding will be worth more in a future trade.

Spot trading is the most common form of forex trading, and is the focus of most articles discussing forex trading tactics. Larger entities will also deal in the forwards and futures markets as a way to hedge risks. Forwards and futures are trades that involve contracts with settlement dates… not actual currency.

For investors looking to delve into the world of forex trading, it would be wise to note that the spot market has matured on the back of modern technology. Trades are computerized which makes this a very fast-paced venture. Because of the pace and complexity of this market, the savvy forex traders all use some form of software to manage and maintain their transactions. Introduction To Forex