Sliding stop losses, on the other hand, can be modified any time depending on the price movement. Another name for sliding Stop loss is Trailing stop, that can be modified either manually or automatically based on the traders' settings. There are many discussions on whether it is necessary to use Stop losses or not. Some traders believe that Stop loss is essential in trading, emphasizing the ability of Stop losses to prevent the loss of the whole deposit.

If the price is rapidly moving in a direction which does not correspond to the forecast, a deal that has not been closed in time can result in a significant loss. The opponents of Stop loss believe that this order can limit not only losses, but profits as well. In this case the position is closed prematurely with a loss while it could develop into a profit later on. As a rule, the decision on whether to use Stop loss or not depends on the individual strategy and preferences of a particular trader.

Trailing stop is an order which its major function is to act as an automatic maintenance of an open position with continually shifting of the stop loss level depending on the price movement. A trader may open a bullish position and sets the gap from the current price to trailing stop in pips. When the price goes upwards, the trailing stop follows it automatically sticking to the set gap.

In case that the price goes down, then the trailing stop quote remains on the spot. In this way, a trader using a trailing stop has an opportunity to derive maximal profit at an ascending price with no regard to the set Take Profit value.

Furthermore, a trailing stop is a loss limiter. Here is an example: a trader opens a buy position at the price of 1. In case that the price starts to move upwards and exceeds the mark of 1. If the price turns down, the price does not change its position. As to a sell position opening, trailing stop behaves quite in the opposite. The trader sets it a few pips higher. At a price descending motion the trailing stop shifts according to the set size. With the up-going price, the trailing stop does not move.

While applying a trailing stop in Forex operations a trader will have to remove stop loss orders manually in line with increases in the trade profit. Trailing stop sets a stop loss level automatically at the value the trader needs. A trailing stop is mainly used by traders who run trend trading, but can't follow the price moves continually.

Trailing stop usage is also feasible at intraday trades, when quick reaction to price change is required. Please note that trailing stops work only when the trading terminal is open. Once the terminal is switched off the stop loss is fixed at its current spot. How to Use Forex for Hedging Hedging denotes safety and security. Hedging means the protection of a client's funds from unfavorable currency rate fluctuations. Account funds are fixed at their current price through conducting trades on Forex.

Thus, hedging helps to ease exposure to currency rate changes risks, which helps to prevent the risk of currency rate fluctuations. As a matter of fact, hedging presupposes using one instrument in order to lower the risk related to unfavorable market factors impact on the price of another one directly associated with it.

Hedging can also be considered as a type of investment allowing to minimize price movements risks in the market. The hedging cost should be valued with regard to the possible losses in the event of not hedging.

Here's a hedging example: a trader, who imports in a foreign currency, opens a buy trade with the currency of his trading account in advance, and when the real time of the currency purchase arrives to his bank, he closes the position.

And a trader, who exports in a foreign currency, opens a sell trade with the currency on his trading account beforehand, and at a the real moment of this currency purchase in his bank, he closes it. Advantages of Forex Over Other Investment Assets 1. Simple to comprehend and master - In a Forex trade we deal with just a pair of currencies 2. Low Minimum Investment - The Forex market requires less capital to start trading than most other markets.

The initial investment could go very low, depending on the leverage offered by the broker. This is a great advantage since Forex traders are able to keep their risk investment to the lowest level. Online Forex brokers offer "mini" and "micro" trading accounts with low minimum account deposit. We're not saying you should open an account with the bare minimum, but it does make Forex trading much more accessible to the average individual who doesn't have a lot of start-up trading capital.

Trading starts when the markets open in Australia on Sunday evening, and ends after markets close in New York on Friday. High Liquidity - Liquidity is the ability of an asset to be converted into cash quickly and without any price discount. In Forex this means we can move large amounts of money into and out of foreign currency with minimal price movement. Low Transaction Cost - In Forex, typically the cost of a transaction is built into the price.

It is called the spread. The spread is the difference between the buying and selling price. Leverage - Forex Brokers allow traders to trade the market using leverage. Leverage is the ability to trade more money on the market than what is actually in the trader's account. Profit Potential from Rising and Falling Prices - The Forex market has no restrictions for directional trading.

This means, if you think a currency pair is going to increase in value; you can buy it, or go long. Similarly, if you think it could decrease in value you can sell it, or go short.. No one can corner the market - The foreign exchange market is so huge and has so many participants that no single entity can control the market price for an extended period of time. Such a huge amount of a daily volume allows for an excellent price stability in most market conditions.

This means you likely will never have to worry about slippage as you would when trading stocks or commodities. The price you see quoted on your trading screen is the price you get. Market transparency and Instant execution - Market transparency is much greater in Forex than in stocks or commodities, this means it is easier to analyze the inner workings of the market and figure out what is driving it. Instantaneous order execution is another great advantage Forex has over other markets.

Retail Forex trading is generally done over the internet on all electronic platforms. The Forex market has no central exchange and was designed to be this way to facilitate large banks and allow for instant execution of transactions, this means no delays for you and extreme ease of execution. Price movements are highly predictable in the Forex market - Due to its highly speculative nature Forex price movements tend to over shoot and then correct back to the mean. This means there are a number of repetitive patterns that are easily recognizable to the trader who is trained in price action analysis.

Forex currency pairs generally spend more time in very strong up or down trends than other markets, this is also a huge advantage because it is generally much easier to trade a strongly trending market than a chaotic and consolidating market.

Now, if you were holding a futures position over night it is entirely possible that your stop got gapped around, in which case you would get filled at the next best price, which often will be extremely damaging to your trading account. Direct participation, difficult to manipulate or influence - Forex trading operates in a decentralized online electronic market for its participants: Banks, FCMs, hedge funds, governments, retail currency conversion houses and high worth net individuals.

Investors can interact directly with the market maker for pricing on a currency pair. Access is quicker and costs are lower than in other markets. Large market liquidity makes it very difficult for any one participant to manipulate or influence it. Easier market analysis - Countries are more often stable than companies making it easier to predict their economic direction. Primary factors affecting demand and supply for Forex investment are interest rates and economic indicators such as GDP, trade balances and foreign investment.

This and other economic data released regularly determines demand and supply for currency pairs. Technology frontiers and investing - Technology enables the retail investor the ability to make better investment decisions through ready access to economic and political news events, to technical charting software and electronic trading platforms. They also have transparent and safe access to their investment funds in segregated accounts so that the safety of their funds is guaranteed.

Limited Risk - Despite the common perception about Forex being risky, it is easy to limit and reduce the risk if a trader chooses the right strategy. In addition it should be mentioned that stops are much easier to control as well, that is why newbies have good chances to succeed even while doing their first steps as Forex investors and traders.

No fees or middlemen - There are no commissions when trading on the Forex market. The retail brokers in this market are compensated through the bid-ask spread. Businessmen can also spot currency trading which eliminates the middlemen and allows each person to trade directly with the market that is responsible for pricing on a certain currency pair. Not only does this expedite the process, it gives each trader more options and versatility.

The Basic Forex Trading Strategy The basic Forex strategy that is used by many traders of all experience levels, is Trend Following. This strategy is widely followed because of its simplicity to identify and trade and many times, strong trends can bail you out of an imperfect set of buy and sell rules. Before we delve into the basics of Trend Following, it is important to first explain why trend trading is a popular strategy used by many new and experienced traders.

Do you have the perfect Forex trading strategy? I have not found it. To me, a perfect strategy is the one that wins all of the time and has minimal trade drawdown. Therefore, learning how to trade in an imperfect world is very important.

Trend following is a simple way to cover up some strategy imperfections by identifying the strongest trends in the market.

When you trade in the direction of the trend, the rest of your trading approach can fall right into place. This doesn't mean that all your trades will be winners. It does mean that you don't have to be exact in your entries and exits once you find a strong trend to trade. Now how do you know when a trend starts and when it is going to end? Since this is a beginners guide I will not elaborate on the various techniques that traders use to identify trends as this is beyond the scope of this book.

I will however touch on several techniques in later chapters but note that these will be just in an introduction level without going too much deeper. Any trader either a newbie or a pro should develop his own style of trading. There are several trading styles that you can adopt. You will choose your style based on your personality and financial capacities.

Many traders make the mistake of adopting a trading style that is unnatural for them. A trader may adopt one of the following two main trading styles: Day Trading and Intraweek trading.

Let's discuss each of them; Day Trading Day trading on Forex means that one or few trades are conducted within one trading day. As a rule, the time intervals between the opening or the closing of trades may take from several minutes up to several hours.

Despite some difficulties of day-trading, this type of trading is very popular among the newcomers as well as among experienced traders. Day trading allows for the opportunity to make a profit in a short time with a small amount of funds. In order to achieve favorable results in an intraday trading it is essential that you make the right forecast as to the price movement, as there are many external factors that cause high volatility in the currency market.

So to make your day trading beneficial you have to track the market situation, collate facts and make conclusions about the price behavior of currencies, it is also important to be able to react fast so that you will find entry and exit points quickly at the opening or the closing of trades. Combining knowledge of technical analysis to be discussed in a later chapter with patience and observance a trader has good chances to earn well with a relatively low risk. There are several strategies of day trading.

The most widespread among them is Scalping - a strategy that is offering a fast opening or closing of several day positions. The trader closes trades while making just a few profit pips on each trade while the earnings come from the accumulation of a large number of successfully completed short term trades.

Another popular day trading strategy is news trading. Traders, who choose news trading, monitor the market events permanently, analyze the currencies behavior in different cases. Usually news trading requires an insight learning of market development and a proper trade experience accumulation. Day trading can be a source of a nice income through the readiness to devote most of your free time to trading.

Now here are the advantages and disadvantages of day trading. This style is suitable for traders with endurance and quick reactions. Intraweek Trading Intraweek trade has no such furious market movements as in intraday trade. It may seem that the market is motionless. But it is just at the first sight. Probably, every trader can find additional styles, but the two that we've mentioned here are probably the most common. Forex Trading Risk Management Your first concern when trading Forex should be not to risk too much money on any given trade.

Unfortunately, many traders start trading Forex without thinking about the risk that they are taking - only about the potential rewards. If you want to succeed in Forex you must take into consideration the maximum percentage of the total trading money that you should risk in any one trade. Actually, your ability to limit your losses is equally as critical or even more critical as your success in managing winning trades. The goal of practicing a good Forex money management is to minimize risk and increase payouts.

For starters here are 3 quick tips: First, Trading Forex is fun and exciting and money can be made; but you must also keep in mind that like with any other trading there is the risk of losing.

Hence, Forex trading rule number one: do not trade with money you can't afford to lose. Second, never borrow money while trading, trade only with your own money this does not apply to leverage that is provided by your broker. And third, set and stick to a budget.

Write it on your forehead if you have to, but no matter what, when you hit that number, quit trading for the day. Good money management calls for adopting a conservative investment strategy that means that you should never risk your entire capital. When you enter a trade no matter how great it may be , always ensure to only invest conservatively. Forex trading like any other investing is not a sure thing, there is always a risk factor involved. A conservative investment strategy helps you to conserve your money when things go wrong.

Forex trading offers a lot of choices to the trader. A good money management strategy requires diversification. The volatility that accompanies trading currencies is much distinct from say trading commodities as well as stocks.

Obviously, the payouts may vary depending on the currency pair which is selected. As the saying goes, never put all your eggs in the same basket. Losses in a trade should be accepted on a positive note. The effects of a trade that goes against you are able to impact the future or successive trade decisions.

Expecting losses whilst investing can assist traders in identifying the areas which may happen to be unnoticed. Losses needs to be seen as a stepping stone instead of having it affect you. Start off slow and scale up - this has a significant role particularly for beginner traders. Certainly do not fall for the emotions and commit your entire amounts right away on one trade. Investing in small amounts continually helps you to take a self-disciplined approach.

The Who's Who of the Central Bank Central banks are like puppeteers. They have full control over monetary policies and their words can move markets in an instant. Long-term Market Movers As with personal relationships, it's important to consider long-term factors in trading. They may hold the key to your happiness! News and Market Data In forex trading, you've got to keep up to date with the latest news and market data to stay alive.

Be in the know by checking out these market info tools! Market Reaction A super duper important report just came out Now what?! Along your travels, you've undoubtedly come across Gulliver, Frodo, and the topic of fundamental analysis. Wait a minute We've already given you a teaser about fundamental analysis during Kindergarten!

Now let's get to the nitty-gritty! What is it exactly and will I need to use it? Well, fundamental analysis is the study of fundamentals! That was easy, wasn't it? There's really more to it than that.

Soooo much more. Whenever you hear people mention fundamentals, they're really talking about the economic fundamentals of a currency's host country or economy. Economic fundamentals cover a vast collection of information - whether in the form of economic, political or environmental reports, data, announcements or events. Fundamental analysis is the use and study of these factors to forecast future price movements of currencies.

It is the study of what's going on in the world and around us, economically and financially speaking, and it tends to focus on how macroeconomic elements such as the growth of the economy, inflation, unemployment affect whatever we're trading.

Fundamental Data and Its Many Forms In particular, fundamental analysis provides insight into how price action "should" or may react to a certain economic event. Fundamental data takes shape in many different forms. It can appear as a report released by the Fed on U. existing home sales. It can also exist in the possibility that the European Central Bank will change its monetary policy. The release of this data to the public often changes the economic landscape or better yet, the economic mindset , creating a reaction from investors and speculators.

There are even instances when no specific report has been released, but the anticipation of such a report happening is another example of fundamentals. Speculations of interest rate hikes can be "priced in" hours or even days before the actual interest rate statement. In fact, currency pairs have been known to sometimes move pips just moments before major economic news, making for a profitable time to trade for the brave.

That's why many traders are often on their toes prior to certain economic releases and you should be too! Generally, economic indicators make up a large portion of data used in fundamental analysis. Like a fire alarm sounding when it detects smoke or feels heat, economic indicators provide some insight into how well a country's economy is doing.

While it's important to know the numerical value of an indicator, equally as important is the market's anticipation and prediction of that value. Understanding the resulting impact of the actual figure in relation to the forecasted figure is the most important part. These factors all need consideration when deciding to trade. Don't worry. It's simpler than it sounds and you won't need to know rocket science to figure it all out.

I suggest you visit Pip Diddy's daily economic roundup every day so that you can stay in the loop with the upcoming economic releases. Fundamental analysis is a valuable tool in estimating the future conditions of an economy, but not so much for predicting currency price direction. This type of analysis has a lot of gray areas because fundamental information in the form of reports releases or monetary policy change announcements is vaguer than actual technical indicators.

Analysis of economic releases and reports of fundamental data usually go something like this: "An interest rate increase of that percentage MAY cause the euro to go up. dollar SHOULD go down with an indicator value in that range. The market has a tendency to react based on how people feel. These feelings can be based on their reaction to economic reports, based on their assessment of current market conditions. And you guessed it - there are tons of people, all with different feelings and ideas.

You're probably thinking "Geez, there's a lot of uncertainty in fundamental analysis! That's not saying that fundamental analysis should be dismissed. Not at all. Because of the sheer volume of fundamental data available, most people simply have a hard time putting it all together.

They understand a specific report, but can't factor it into the broader economic picture. This simply takes time and a deeper understanding of the data. Also, since most fundamental data are reported only for a single currency, fundamental data for the other currency in the pair would also be needed and would then have to be compared to get an accurate picture.

If you're too busy to go through a bajillion news reports and economic data, don't fret. Our resident economic guru, Forex Gump, got yo back covered!

Make sure you read up on his regular economic analysis on his Piponomics blog. As we mentioned from the get-go, it's all about pairing a strong currency with a weak one. At this point, you're probably still waiting for the answer to "Will I ever need to use fundamental analysis to become a successful trader? Technical analysis seems to be the preferred methodology of short-term traders, with price action as their main focus. Intermediate or medium traders and some long-term traders like to focus on fundamental analysis too because it helps with currency valuation.

We like to be a little crazy by saying you should use BOTH! Technically-focused strategies are blown to bits when a key fundamental event occurs. In the same respect, pure fundamental traders miss out on the short term opportunities that pattern formations and technical levels bring. A mix of technical and fundamental analysis covers all angles. You're aware of the scheduled economic releases and events, but you can also identify and use the various technical tools and patterns that market players focus on.

I have a couple of trade examples for you showing how the perfect blend of fundamental and technical analysis results in huge profits. There's your answer! In this lesson, we'll discuss the major fundamental factors that affect currencies. These are interest rates, monetary policies, and market-moving economic reports. As I mentioned earlier, Pip Diddy's daily economic roundup is a great source of economic updates. Combine that with Forex Gump's in depth Piponomics articles and fundamental analysis will be a breeze!

Interest Rates Simply put, interest rates make the forex world go 'round! In other words, the forex market is ruled by interest rates. A currency's interest rate is probably the biggest factor in determining the perceived value of a currency. So knowing how a country's central bank sets its monetary policy, such as interest rate decisions, is a crucial thing to wrap your head around. One of the biggest influences on a central bank's interest rate decision is price stability, or "inflation".

Inflation is a steady increase in the prices of goods and services. Inflation is the reason why your parents or your parents' parents paid a nickel for a soda pop in the 's, but now people pay twenty times more for the same product. It's generally accepted that moderate inflation comes with economic growth. However, too much inflation can harm an economy and that's why central banks are always keeping a watchful eye on inflation-related economic indicators, such as the CPI and PCE.

This occurs because setting high interest rates normally forces consumers and businesses to borrow less and save more, putting a damper on economic activity. Loans just become more expensive while sitting on cash becomes more attractive. On the other hand, when interest rates are decreasing, consumers and businesses are more inclined to borrow because banks ease lending requirements , boosting retail and capital spending, thus helping the economy to grow.

What does this have to do with the forex market? Well, currencies rely on interest rates because these dictate the flow of global capital into and out of a country.

They're what investors use to determine if they'll invest in a country or go elsewhere. Neither, you say? Yea, we're inclined to go the same route - keep the money under the mattress, ya know what we mean? We hope so because 1 is bigger than 0. Currencies work the same way! The higher a country's interest rate, the more likely its currency will strengthen. Currencies surrounded by lower interest rates are more likely to weaken over the longer term. Pretty simple stuff. The main point to be learned here is that domestic interest rates directly affect how global market players feel about a currency's value relative to another.

Interest rate expectations Markets are ever-changing with the anticipation of different events and situations. Interest rates do the same thing - they change - but they definitely don't change as often. Most traders don't spend their time focused on current interest rates because the market has already "priced" them into the currency price. What is more important is where interest rates are EXPECTED to go.

It's also important to know that interest rates tend to shift in line with monetary policy, or more specifically, with the end of monetary cycles. If rates have been going lower and lower over a period a time, it's almost inevitable that the opposite will happen. Rates will have to increase at some point. And you can count on the speculators to try to figure out when that will happen and by how much. The market will tell them; it's the nature of the beast.

A shift in expectations is a signal that a shift in speculation will start, gaining more momentum as the interest rate change nears. While interest rates change with the gradual shift of monetary policy, market sentiment can also change rather suddenly from just a single report. This causes interest rates to change in a more drastic fashion or even in the opposite direction as originally anticipated.

So you better watch out! Rate Differentials Pick a pair, any pair. Many forex traders use a technique of comparing one currency's interest rate to another currency's interest rate as the starting point for deciding whether a currency may weaken or strengthen.

The difference between the two interest rates, known as the "interest rate differential," is the key value to keep an eye on. This spread can help you identify shifts in currencies that might not be obvious. An interest rate differential that increases helps to reinforce the higher-yielding currency, while a narrowing differential is positive for the lower-yielding currency. Instances where the interest rates of the two countries move in opposite directions often produce some of the market's largest swing.

An interest rate increase in one currency combined with the interest rate decrease of the other currency is a perfect equation for sharp swings! Nominal vs. Real When people talk about interest rates, they are either referring to the nominal interest rate or the real interest rate. What's the difference? The nominal interest rate doesn't always tell the entire story. The nominal interest rate is the rate of interest before adjustments for inflation.

Markets, on the other hand, don't focus on this rate, but rather on the real interest rate. That's a huge difference so always remember to distinguish between the two. Central banks and monetary policy go hand-in-hand, so you can't talk about one without talking about the other. While some of these mandates and goals are shared by the different central banks. Central banks have their own unique set of goals brought on by their distinctive economies. Ultimately, monetary policy boils down to promoting and maintaining price stability and economic growth.

To achieve their goals, central banks use monetary policy mainly to control the following:  the interest rates tied to the cost of money,  the rise in inflation,  the money supply,  reserve requirements over banks,  and discount window lending to commercial banks Types of Monetary Policy Monetary policy can be referred to in a couple different ways.

Contractionary or restrictive monetary policy takes place if it reduces the size of the money supply. It can also occur with the raising of interest rates. The idea here is to slow economic growth with the high interest rates.

Borrowing money becomes harder and more expensive, which reduces spending and investment by both consumers and businesses. Expansionary monetary policy, on the other hand, expands or increases the money supply, or decreases the interest rate. The cost of borrowing money goes down in hopes that spending and investment will go up.

Accommodative monetary policy aims to create economic growth by lowering the interest rate, whereas tight monetary policy is set to reduce inflation or restrain economic growth by raising interest rates. Finally, neutral monetary policy intends to neither create growth nor fight inflation.

They might not come out and say it specifically, but their monetary policies all operate and focus on reaching this comfort zone. They know that some inflation is a good thing, but out-of-control inflation can remove the confidence people have in their economy, their job, and ultimately, their money. By having target inflation levels, central banks help market participants better understand how they the central bankers will deal with the current economic landscape. Let's take a look at an example.

Back in January of , inflation in the U. shot up to 3. Mervyn King, the governor of the BOE, followed up the report by reassuring people that temporary factors caused the sudden jump, and that the current inflation rate would fall in the near term with minimal action from the BOE. Whether or not his statements turned out to be true is not the point here. We just want to show that the market is in a better place when it knows why the central bank does or doesn't do something in relation to its target interest rate.

Simply put, traders like stability. Central banks like stability. Economies like stability. Knowing that inflation targets exist will help a trader to understand why a central bank does what it does. Round and Round with Policy Cycles For those of you that follow the U.

dollar and economy and that should be all of you! It was the craziest thing to come out of the Fed ever, and the financial world was in an uproar! Wait, you don't remember this happening? It was all over the media. Petroleum prices went through the roof and milk was priced like gold. You must have been sleeping! Oh wait, we were just pulling your leg!

We just wanted to make sure you were still awake. Monetary policy would never dramatically change like that. Most policy changes are made in small, incremental adjustments because the bigwigs at the central banks would have utter chaos on their hands if interest rates changed too radically. Just the idea of something like happening would disrupt not only the individual trader, but the economy as a whole.

That's why we normally see interest rate changes of. Again, remember that central banks want price stability, not shock and awe. Part of this stability comes with the amount of time needed to make these interest rate changes happen. It can take several months to even several years. Just like traders who collect and study data to make their next move, central bankers do a similar job, but they have to focus their decision-making with the entire economy in mind, not just a single trade.

Interest rate hikes can be like stepping on the accelerator while interest rate cuts can be like hitting the brakes, but bear in mind that consumers and business react a little more slowly to these changes. This lag time between the change in monetary policy and the actual effect on the economy can take one to two years. The Who's Who of the Central Bank We just learned that currency prices are affected a great deal by changes in a country's interest rates.

We now know that interest rates are ultimately affected by a central bank's view on the economy and price stability, which influence monetary policy. Central banks operate like most other businesses in that they have a leader, a president or a chairman. It's that individual's role to be the voice of that central bank, conveying to the market which direction monetary policy is headed. And much like when Steve Jobs or Michael Dell steps to the microphone, everyone listens.

Using the Complex conjugate root theorem, the answer is yes! Yes, it's important to know what's coming down the road regarding potential monetary policy changes. And lucky for you, central banks are getting better at communicating with the market. Whether you actually understand what they're saying, well that's a different story. So the next time Ben Bernanke or Jean-Claude Trichet are giving speeches, keep your ears open. Better yet, use the trusty BabyPips.

com Economic Calendar to prepare yourself before the actual speech. While the central bank Chairman isn't the only one making monetary policy decisions for a country or economy, what he or she has to say is only not ignored, but revered like the gospel.

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but you get the point. Not all central bank officials carry the same weight. Central bank speeches have a way of inciting a market response, so watch for quick movement following an announcement. Speeches can include anything from changes increases, decreases or holds to current interest rates, to discussions about economic growth measurements and outlook, to monetary policy announcements outlining current and future changes.

But don't despair if you can't tune in to the live event. As soon as the speech or announcement hits the airwaves, news agencies from all over make the information available to the public. Currency analysts and traders alike take the news and try to dissect the overall tone and language of the announcement, taking special care to do this when interest rate changes or economic growth information are involved. Much like how the market reacts to the release of other economic reports or indicators, currency traders react more to central bank activity and interest rate changes when they don't fall in line with current market expectation.

It's getting easier to foresee how a monetary policy will develop over time, due to an increasing transparency by central banks. Yet there's always a possibility that central bankers will change their outlook in greater or lesser magnitude than expected.

It's during these times that marketing volatility is high and care should be taken with existing and new trade positions. Los Angeles Hawks vs. the New York Doves Yes, you're in the right place. Tonight's match puts the L.

Hawks up against the N. You're in for a treat. Wait, what?! Whoops sorry, wrong subject. We really just meant hawks versus doves, central bank hawks versus central bank doves that is. Central bankers can be viewed as either hawkish or dovish, depending on how they approach certain economic situations. Central bankers are described as "hawkish" when they are in support of the raising of interest rates to fight inflation, even to the detriment of economic growth and employment.

For example, "The Bank of England suggests the existence of a threat of high inflation. Dovish central bankers, on the other hand, generally favor economic growth and employment over tightening interest rates.

They also tend to have a more non-aggressive stance or viewpoint regarding a specific economic event or action. And the winner is It's a tie!

Well, sort of. You'll find many a banker "on the fence", exhibiting both hawkish and dovish tendencies. However, true colors tend to shine when extreme market conditions occur. Long-term Market Movers There are several fundamentals that help shape the long term strength or weakness of the major currencies.

We've included what we think are the most important, for your reading pleasure: Economic Growth and Outlook We start easy with the economy and outlook held by consumers, businesses and the governments.

It's easy to understand that when consumers perceive a strong economy, they feel happy and safe, and they spend money. Companies willingly take this money and say, "Hey, we're making money! uh, what do we do with all this money? And all this creates some healthy tax revenue for the government.

They jump on board and also start spending money. Now everybody is spending, and this tends to have a positive effect on the economy. But you get the idea. Both positive and negative economic outlooks can have a direct effect on the currency markets. Capital Flows Globalization, technology advances and the internet have all contributed to the ease of investing your money virtually anywhere in the world, regardless of where you call home. You're only a few clicks of the mouse away or a phone call for you folks living in the Jurassic era of the 's from investing in the New York or London Stock exchange, trading the Nikkei or Hang Seng index, or from opening a forex account to trade U.

dollars, euros, yen, and even exotic currencies. Capital flows measure the amount of money flowing into and out of a country or economy because of capital investment purchasing and selling. The important thing you want to keep track of is capital flow balance, which can be positive or negative. When a country has a positive capital flow balance, foreign investments coming into the country are greater than investments heading out of the country.

A negative capital flow balance is the direct opposite. Investments leaving the country for some foreign destination are greater than investments coming in. With more investment coming into a country, demand increases for that country's currency as foreign investors have to sell their currency in order to buy the local currency. This demand causes the currency to increase in value. Simple supply and demand.

And you guessed it, if supply is high for a currency or demand is weak , the currency tends to lose value. When foreign investments make an about-face, and domestic investors also wants to switch teams and leave, and then you have an abundance of the local currency as everybody is selling and buying the currency of whatever foreign country or economy they're investing in. Foreign capital love nothing more than a country with high interest rates and strong economic growth.

If a country also has a growing domestic financial market, even better! A booming stock market, high interest rates What's not to love?! Foreign investment comes streaming in. And again, as demand for the local currency increases, so does its value. Countries sell their own goods to countries that want them exporting , while at the same time buying goods they want from other countries importing.

Have a look around your house. Most of the stuff electronics, clothing, doggie toys lying around are probably made outside of the country you live in. Every time you buy something, you have to give up some of your hard-earned cash. Whoever you buy your widget from has to do the same thing. importers exchange money with Chinese exporters when they buy goods. And Chinese imports exchange money with European exporters when they buy goods. All this buying and selling is accompanied by the exchange of money, which in turn changes the flow of currency into and out of a country.

Trade balance or balance of trade or net exports measures the ratio of exports to imports for a given economy. It demonstrates the demand of that country's good and services, and ultimately it's currency as well.

If exports are higher than imports, a trade surplus exists and the trade balance is positive. If imports are higher than exports, a trade deficit exists, and the trade balance is negative.

Net importers first have to sell their currency in order to buy the currency of the foreign merchant who's selling the goods they want. When there's a trade deficit, the local currency is being sold to buy foreign goods. Because of that, the currency of a country with a trade deficit is less in demand compared to the currency of a country with a trade surplus. Net exporters, countries that export more than they import, see their currency being bought more by countries interested in buying the exported goods.

It's all due to the demand of the currency. Currencies in higher demand tend to be valued higher than those in less demand. It's similar to pop stars. Because she's more in demand, Lady Gaga gets paid more than Britney Spears. Same thing with Justin Bieber versus Vanilla Ice.

The Government: Present and Future The years and have definitely been the years where more eyes were glaringly watching their respective country's governments, wondering about the financial difficulties being faced, and hoping for some sort of fiscal responsibility that would end the woes felt in our wallets.

Instability in the current government or changes to the current administration can have a direct bearing on that country's economy and even neighboring nations. And any impact to an economy will most likely affect exchange rates. That's right! No wonder you're here to get some education!

There's just way too much information to try to process and way too many things to confuse any newbie trader. That's some insane information overload if we've ever seen it. But information is king when it comes to making successful trades. Price moves because of all of this information: economic reports, a new central bank chairperson, and interest rate changes.

News moves fundamentals and fundamentals move currency pairs! It's your goal to make successful trades and that becomes a lot easier when you know why price is moving that way it is. Successful traders weren't born successful; they were taught or they learned. Successful traders don't have mystical powers well, except for Pipcrawler, but he's more weird than he is mystical and they can't see the future. What they can do is see through the blur that is forex news and data, pick what's important to traders at the moment, and make the right trading decisions.

Where to Go for Market Information Market news and data is made available to you through a multitude of sources. The internet is the obvious winner in our book, as it provides a wealth of options, at the speed of light, directly to your screen, with access from almost anywhere in the world.

But don't forget about print media and the good old tube sitting in your living room or kitchen. Individual traders will be amazed at the sheer number of currency-specific websites, services, and TV programming available to them.

Most of them are free of charge, while you may have to pay for some of the others. Let's go over our favorites to help you get started. Websites Our top pick of a forex news-specific website is FreshPips. Make a mental note that the name of the website is eerily similar to the one you're currently on.

Oh wait, FreshPips. com is just another apple out of the basket of "Pips. com" websites see all of them here. We're not ashamed about promoting FreshPips. Put on this planet to help you unearth and share interesting and useful forex news and research, handpicked from the web by forex traders, from the biggest news sites to little known blogs, FreshPips.

com reveals the finest materials as voted on by our users to help you become a smarter forex trader. It covers the areas of analysis, commentary, economic indicators, psychology, and specific currencies.

Traditional Financial News Sources While there are tons of financial news resources out there, we advise you to stick with the big names. These guys provide around-the-clock coverage of the markets, with daily updates on the big news that you need to be aware of, such as central bank announcements, economic report releases and analysis, etc.

Many of these big players also have institutional contacts that provide explanations about the current events of the day to the viewing public. Financial TV networks exist 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide you up-to-the-minute action on all of the world's financial markets. In the U. You could even throw a little BBC in there. Another option for real-time data comes from your trading platform. Many brokers include live newsfeeds directly in their software to give you easy and immediate access to events and news of the currency market.

Check your broker for availability of such features not all brokers features are created equally. It's all possible with an economic calendar. The good ones let you look at different months and years, let you sort by currency, and let you assign your local time zone. Yes, economic events and data reports take place more frequently than most people can keep up with.

This data has the potential to move markets in the short term and accelerate the movement of currency pairs you might be watching. Lucky for you, most economic news that's important to forex traders is scheduled several months in advance.

So which calendar do we recommend? We look no further than our very own BabyPips. com forex Economic Calendar to provide all that goodness! If you don't like ours which we highly doubt , a simple Yahoogleing search will offer up a nice collection for you to examine. Market Information Tips Keep in mind the timeliness of the reports you read.

A lot of this stuff has already occurred and the market has already adjusted prices to take the report into account. If the market has already made its move, you might have to adjust your thinking and current strategy. Keep tabs on just how old this news is or you'll find yourself "yesterday's news. Economic data rumors do exist, and they can occur minutes to several hours before a scheduled release of data. The rumors help to produce some short-term trader action, and they can sometimes also have a lasting effect on market sentiment.

Institutional traders are also often rumored to be behind large moves, but it's hard to know the truth with a decentralized market like spot forex. There's never a simple way of verifying the truth. Your job as a trader is to create a good trading plan and quickly react to such news about rumors, after they've been proven true or false. Having a well-rounded risk management plan in this case could save you some moolah!

And the final tip: Know who is reporting the news. Are we talking analysts or economists, economist or the owner of the newest forex blog on the block? Maybe a central bank analyst? The more reading and watching you do of forex news and media, the more finance and currency professionals you'll be exposed to. Are they offering merely an opinion or a stated fact based on recently released data?

The more you know about the "Who", the better off you will be in understanding how accurate the news is. Those who report the news often have their own agenda and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Get to know the people that "know", so YOU "know". Can you dig it? Market Reaction There's no one "All in" or "Bet the Farm" formula for success when it comes to predicting how the market will react to data reports or market events or even why it reacts the way it does.

You can draw on the fact that there's usually an initial response, which is usually short-lived, but full of action.

Later on comes the second reaction, where traders have had some time to reflect on the implications of the news or report on the current market. It's at this point when the market decides if the news release went along with or against the existing expectation, and if it reacted accordingly. Was the outcome of the report expected or not? And what does the initial response of the market tell us about the bigger picture?

Answering those questions gives us place to start interpreting the ensuing price action. Consensus Expectations A consensus expectation, or just consensus, is the relative agreement on upcoming economic or news forecasts. When forex traders expect the price of an asset to fall, they will go short. This means benefiting from buying at a lesser value. To achieve this, you simply need to place a sell order. The current exchange rate of a forex pair is always based on market forces.

This will change on a second-by-second basis. As we noted earlier, you also need to take the spread into account, so there will always be a slight variation in pricing.

For instance, if you exchange 1 USD for 17 ZAR, the sale and purchase price offered by your forex broker will be either side of that figure. The currency pairs with the most notable supply and demand attached to them will be considered the most liquid in the forex market.

The supply and demand aspect is thanks to the investment of importers, exporters, banks and traders — to name a few. The most liquid currency pairs are therefore the ones in high demand. When you feel you are ready to take the plunge and begin live trading, you need to select a forex trading system. There is a vast amount of trading strategies for you to pick from. This is because investors, speculators, corporations and banks have been trading for decades. In this part of the forex trading PDF, we are going to explain a few of the strategies available to you.

If you want to buy and sell currency pairs from the comfort of your home or even via your mobile device , you will need to use a trading platform. Otherwise referred to as a forex broker, there are literally hundreds of trading platforms active in the online space. This makes it extremely difficult to know which broker to sign up with.

In the below sections of our forex trading PDF, we explain some of the considerations that you need to make. You should also look out for analysis tools available to you. In some cases, this might be embedded, while some offer tools such as technical analysis and fundamental analysis.

This is because it will save you a lot of leg work having to move between different sites and sources of information. Some of the fastest and easiest trading platforms are MetaTrader 5 MT5 and MetaTrader 4 MT4.

Crucially, both MT4 and MT5 are fast and receptive trading platforms, both providing live market data and access to sophisticated charts. It is essential before you begin trading seriously that you fully trust the trading platform you intend on using. This is especially the case if you intend on using a scalping strategy, for example. However, if you like to trade, it is vital for your peace of mind and your finances that you are fully confident with the fast execution of data transfer.

This is also the case with the precision of quoted prices, and the speed of order processing. All of these things are going to help you to have a successful forex trading experience.

To enable you to make the most of new opportunities, the ideal forex broker will be available to you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, in line with the forex market opening hours. To save you from having to request that your broker takes action for you, your forex broker should enable you to manage your account and your trades separately. By doing this, you will be in a much better position to quickly react to any shifts in the market, and hopefully, make the most of potential opportunities.

This will enable you to gain better control over any open positions as and when they arise. It is important to ensure that your forex broker of choice is a reputable company, who will ensure that your personal information and trading funds are fully protected and backed up. Segregation is frequently used amongst forex brokers as a way to separate your funds from the funds of the company i.

their daily costs, debts and running costs. So, no matter what happens to the forex broker, your money is safe and segregated. If you find that a forex broker is unable to do this, we would suggest you find a better broker as it is standard practice these days. All of the brokers listed towards the end of this forex trading PDF are regulated by at least one reputable licensing body.

In terms of getting set up as an online forex trader, the steps remain constant regardless of which broker you decide to join. Below we list some of the steps that you will need to take. In order to open an account, you will need to enter some personal information. Standard details requested by the broker will be things like your name, residential address, and contact details. Some brokers will also require your tax status and will ask you to provide more financial details such as employment status, net worth and any regular income.

In this instance, you will usually need to answer some multiple-choice questions based on your experience. This is usually a fairly simple process. Known as KYC in the industry Know Your Customer , this simply means that the forex broker is going to need you to prove who you are.

Some brokers will verify this using scanned copies of documentation. Now you need to select your payment method of choice usually from a drop-down list. Bear in mind that how long this takes to go into your trading account will largely depend on the payment method — so always check this before parting with your cash.

Some brokers even support e-wallets like PayPal and Skrill. After reading our forex trading PDF you should now be feeling confident enough to begin trading. However, we do recommend that you always try out a free forex trading demo first. This will allow you to test out your newly formed trading strategies before risking your own capital.

In the next section of our forex trading PDF, we explore some of the more important technical indicators and market insights used by seasoned traders. First invented by Richard Donchian, the donchian channels can be adapted as you like, in terms of parameters.

Should you choose to view a day breakdown, for example, the indicator will be created by taking the lowest low, and the highest high of that period so in this example 30 periods. When observing the moving average on a donchian channel you can look at averages stretching from 25 days to the last days.

The direction which is permitted is determined by the direction of the short-term moving average. With this in mind, you should think about opening one of the following two positions:. You will need to sell your pair in order to exit your trade if you open a long position and visa-versa. This is another commonly used forex indicator. The simple moving average aka SMA operates at a slower rate than the present market price known as a lagging indicator. Furthermore, it uses a lot of historical price data.

In fact, more so than most other strategies. A good indication that the latest price is higher than the older price is when the long-term moving average is below the short-term moving average. This could be considered a buy signal due to an upward trend in the market. In the opposite scenario when the long-term moving average is higher than the short-term moving average, this of course points towards a sell signal due to a downward trend.

Moving averages are usually used as evidence of an overall trend, rather than purely forex trading signals. Of course, this is a great way to make your breakout signals much more productive. If you are alerted to a sell signal, this indicates that the short-term moving average is below that of the long-term moving average, so you might want to place a sell order.

However, if you are given a signal to buy, this usually means that the short-term moving average is higher than that of the long-term moving average. Using breaks as trading signals, the breakout is considered a long-term strategy. The breakout itself occurs when the market goes further than these consolidation limits — whether that be lower or higher. As such, a breakout must take place whenever a new trend occurs.

edu no longer supports Internet Explorer. To browse Academia. edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser. Foreign exchange, popularly known as 'Forex' or 'FX', is the trade of a single currency for another at a decided trade price on the over-the-counter OTC marketplace.

wilson putra. this is something you have looking for when making serious decision about Dollar investment stuff. Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link. Need an account? Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Forex for Beginners: How to Make Money in Forex Trading Currency Trading Strategies. Rajiswaran Muniandi. Continue Reading Download Free PDF. Related Papers.

How To Trade Dollar. Download Free PDF View PDF. All rights reserved. Table of Contents 1. Making Money in Forex Trading 2. What is Forex Trading 3. How to Control Losses with "Stop Loss" 4. How to Use Forex for Hedging 5. Advantages of Forex Over Other Investment Assets 6. The Basic Forex Trading Strategy 7. Forex Trading Risk Management 8.

What You Need to Succeed in Forex 9. Technical Analysis As a Tool for Forex Trading Success Developing a Forex Strategy and Entry and Exit Signals Thousands of people, all over the world, are trading Forex and making tons of money.

Why not you? All you need to start trading Forex is a computer and an Internet connection. You can do it from the comfort of your home, in your spare time without leaving your day job. And you don't need a large sum of money to start, you can trade initially with a minimal sum, or better off, you can start practicing with a demo account without the need to deposit any money.

Once you consider to start Forex trading, one of the first things you need to do is choose a broker, choosing a reliable broker is the single most critical factor to Forex success.

There are dozens of online brokers out there but your best bet is to go with one of the leaders. Here are 2 online brokers that are reputable and are most suitable for beginners and pros alike: 1. Forex Inc - The best broker for US residents If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the following URL into a browser: www. eToro - accepts worldwide traders except US residents If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the following URL into a browser: www.

Now I would strongly encourage you to go and visit these broker's sites right now even if you are not yet decided whether you want to go into Forex trading. because each provides tons of free education materials, videos and best of all a demo account that allows you to practice Forex trading for free without the need to deposit any money. Simply go to each of these brokers, register for a free demo account and start "trading" - by actually practicing and experiencing it firsthand you'll be able to decide whether Forex trading is for you.

In any case, before starting to trade for real, it is advisable that you practice with a demo account. Once you build some skill and feel more comfortable with the system you can start trading gradually for real money. Now which of the two brokers you should choose?

while both are reputable and reliable they do have some differences. For starter if you are a US resident you should choose Forex Inc, as eToro does not accept US residents. Here is a summary of the specific advantages of each of them.

Choose based on your personal preferences: Forex Inc www. It has several different account levels that make it easy for anyone to open an account. Forex Inc is an excellent broker suitable for beginners and pros alike.

eToro www. You can also communicate with other traders including the top traders. What is Forex Trading Foreign exchange, popularly known as 'Forex' or 'FX', is the trade of a single currency for another at a decided trade price on the over-the-counter OTC marketplace.

In essence, Forex currency trading is the act of simultaneously purchasing one foreign currency whilst selling another, mainly for the purpose of speculation. Foreign currency values increase appreciate and drop depreciate towards one another as a result of variety of factors such as economics and geopolitics. The normal objective of FX traders is to make money from these types of changes in the value of one foreign currency against another by actively speculating on which way foreign exchange rates are likely to turn in the future.

In contrast to the majority of financial markets, the OTC over-the-counter currency markets does not have any physical place or main exchange and trades hours every day via a worldwide system of companies, financial institutions and individuals. Because of this, currency rates are continuously rising and falling in value towards one another, providing numerous trading choices. One of the important elements regarding Forex's popularity is the fact that currency trading markets usually are available hours a day from Sunday evening right through to Friday night.

Buying and selling follows the clock, beginning on Monday morning in Wellington, New Zealand, moving on to Asian trade spearheaded from Tokyo and Singapore, ahead of going to London and concluding on Friday evening in New York.

The fact that prices are available to deal hours daily makes certain that price gapping whenever a price leaps from one level to another with no trading between is less and makes sure that traders could take a position each time they desire, irrespective of time, even though in reality there are particular 'lull' occasions when volumes tend to be below their daily average which could widen market spreads.

Forex is a leveraged or margined item, which means that you are simply required to put in a small percentage of the full value of your position to set a foreign exchange trade. Because of this, the chance of profit, or loss, from your primary money outlay is considerably greater than in conventional trading.

Currencies are designated by three letter symbols. The first currency is the base currency and the second currency is the quote currency. The price, or rate, that is quoted is the amount of the second currency required to purchase one unit of the first currency. As we see, the US dollar is represented in all currency pairs, thus, if a currency pair contains the US dollar, this pair is considered a major currency pair. Pairs which do not include the US dollar are called cross currency pairs, or cross rates.

One of the most interesting movements in the Forex market involving the British pound took place in the September 16, That day is known as Black Wednesday with the British Pound posting its biggest fall.

the US dollar currency pairs. The general reasons for this "sterling crisis" are said to be the participation of Great Britain in the European currency system with fixed exchange rate corridors; recently passed parliamentary elections; a reduction in the British industrial output; the Bank of England efforts to hold the parity rate for the Deutschemark, as well as a dramatic outflow of investors. At the same time, due to a profitability slant, the German currency market became more attractive than the British one.

All in all, the speculators were rushing to sell pounds for Deutschemarks and for US dollars. As a result, the pound returned to a floating exchange rate. Another intriguing currency pair is the US dollar vs. It is traded most actively during sessions in Asia.

From the mid 80's the Yen ratings started rising actively versus the US Dollar. In the early 90's a prosperous economic development turned into a standstill in Japan, the unemployment increased; earnings and wages slid as well as the living standards of the Japanese population. And from the beginning of the year , this caused bankruptcies of numerous financial organizations in Japan.

As a consequence, the quotes on the Tokyo Stock Exchange collapsed, a Yen devaluation took place, thereafter, a new wave of bankruptcies among manufacturing companies began. The above started an Asian crisis in the years that led a Yen crash. It resulted in a tumble of the Yen-US dollar pair from Yens for one US dollar to The global economic crisis touched almost all fields of human activities.

Forex currency market was no exception. Though, Forex participants central banks, commercial banks, investment banks, brokers and dealers, pension funds, insurance companies and transnational companies were in a difficult position, the Forex market continues to function successfully, it is a stable and profitable as never before.

The financial crisis of has led to drastic changes in the world's currencies values. During the crisis, the Yen strengthened most of all against all other currencies. Neither the US dollar, nor the euro, but the Yen proved to be the most reliable currency instrument for traders. One of the reasons for such strengthening can be attributed to the fact that traders needed to find a sanctuary amid a monetary chaos. Ask and Bid When traders want to place an order on the Forex market they should be aware of the currency pair as well as the price of this pair.

A Forex market price of a currency pair is denoted by two symbols, Ask and Bid, which have specific digital notations. Consequently, a trader sells the currency standing second. Bid price is the lowest price in the quotation of the currency pair, at which a trader sells the currency standing first in the abbreviation of the currency pair. Respectively, a trader buys the currency standing second. Seem complicated? This means that you can buy 1 euro for 1.

Forex has increasingly become an extremely attractive alternative asset group for speculators to trade, in addition to the usual staple of stocks and futures. For example, 1 pip is 0. So if a trader sells a certain quantity of a currency on, say, Monday, he or she is obligated to deliver that quantity of the currency on Wednesday. Interest rates, unemployment and export rates, or the central bank's policy changes, can lead to a serious change of an exchange rate. How to Develop a Sentiment-Based Approach As a trader, it is your job to gauge what the market is feeling. For example, a new restaurant owner must set aside enough money to pay the rent of the restaurant for at least a few months to a few years, assuming that the restaurant would not make any net profits in that period of time.

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