Leverage Risks

As we mentioned above, the best trader is he who can detach himself from his emotions during his trading activity: one can have as much excitement and joy as he desires while enjoying the fruits of his achievements, but during trading itself, the heart should beat softly, and the brain should be in charge. Needless to say, a high-risk, all-or-nothing environment where any slight mistake can wipe out the trader's capital is not the environment that is conducive to creating such a mentality. Mistakes will inevitably happen during trading; neither man nor machine is capable of predicting every movement of the market precisely. To ensure that the mistakes that occur do not eliminate your capital, your self-esteem, and your chance of learning from your errors, do not over leverage.

High leverage works against the speculator by increasing the stakes and making the heart beat faster. No one jumps in his seat over the loss of a couple of dollars through which lessons are learned and mistakes recognized. But as potential losses increase, the beginner will have no time to focus on the lessons from his deficiencies, but instead will agonize over his stupidity at having risked so much money in a bet that didn't possess much chance of success anyway. And there begins the vicious spiral of fear, and losses which can eventually ruin a good man's livelihood.

But if the reader is afraid of the large holes that leverage can open in his pockets, he should also keep in mind that there's nothing related to the forex market per se that is dangerous and harmful. Forex is perhaps the safest of all market, since in general the prices move very slowly, and unlike in the stock market, the wipe-out of an unleveraged account is almost impossible: let us remember that nations do not go bankrupt, and currencies don't go to zero in general. But because many people see forex as a get-rich-quick scheme, and expect nonsensical levels of leverage to work for them, more people fail in this market than those who succeed.

Remember, if you can't create great returns at low leverage, there's absolutely no reason to expect to do so on high leverage, and every reason to expect massive losses instead.

Reading Quotes

One of the biggest sources of confusion for those new to the currency market is the standard for quoting currencies. In this section, we'll go over currency quotations and how they work in currency pair trades.

When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), the quote would look like this:

USD/JPY = 105.25

This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency (in this case, the U.S. dollar) is always equal to one unit (in this case, 1 USD), and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that US$1 = 105.25 Japanese yen. In other words, US$1 can buy 105.25 Japanese yen.

Direct Quote vs. Indirect Quote
There are two ways to quote a currency pair, either directly or indirectly. A direct quote is simply a currency pair in which the domestic currency is the base currency; while an indirect quote, is a currency pair where the domestic currency is the quoted currency. So if you were looking at the Canadian dollar as the domestic currency and U.S. dollar as the foreign currency, a direct quote would be CAD/USD, while an indirect quote would be USD/CAD. The direct quote varies the foreign currency, and the quoted, or domestic currency, remains fixed at one unit. In the indirect quote, on the other hand, the domestic currency is variable and the foreign currency is fixed at one unit.

For example, if Canada is the domestic currency, a direct quote would be 0.85 CAD/USD, which means with C$1, you can purchase US$0.85. The indirect quote for this would be the inverse (1/0.85), which is 1.18 USD/CAD and means that USD$1 will purchase C$1.18.

In the Forex spot market, most currencies are traded against the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. dollar is frequently the base currency in the currency pair. This would apply to the above USD/JPY currency pair, which indicates that US$1 is equal to 119.50 Japanese yen.

However, not all currencies have the U.S. dollar as the base. The Queen's currencies - those currencies that historically have had a tie with Britain, such as the British pound, Australian Dollar and New Zealand dollar - are all quoted as the base currency against the U.S. dollar. The Euro, which is relatively new, is quoted the same way as well. This is why the EUR/USD quote is given as 1.55, for example, because it means that one euro is the equivalent of 1.55 U.S. dollars.

Most currency exchange rates are quoted out to four digits after the decimal place, with the exception of the Japanese yen (JPY), which is quoted out to two decimal places.

Avoiding/lowering risk when trading Forex

Trade like a technical analyst. Understanding the fundamentals behind an investment also requires understanding the technical analysis method. When your fundamental and technical signals point to the same direction, you have a good chance to have a successful trade, especially with good money management skills. Use simple support and resistance technical analysis, Fibonacci Retracement and reversal days. Be disciplined. Create a position and understand your reasons for having that position, and establish stop loss and profit taking levels. Discipline includes hitting your stops and not following the temptation to stay with a losing position that has gone through your stop/loss level. When you buy, buy high. When you sell, sell higher. Similarly, when you sell, sell low. When you buy, buy lower. Rule of thumb: In a bull market, be long or neutral - in a bear market, be short or neutral. If you forget this rule and trade against the trend, you will usually cause yourself to suffer psychological worries, and frequently, losses. And never add to a losing position.

How to read Forex Charts.

Learning the basic skills in forex
, such as how to read forex charts, is really important.

This is because once you have this vital skill under your belt, it will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes for you to learn and practice an actual forex trading system.

By the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to read forex charts, as well as know the pitfalls that can occur when reading them, especially if you haven't traded forex before.

Firstly, let's revise the basics of a forex trading as this relates directly to how to reade forex charts.

Each currency pair is always quoted in the same way. For example, the EURUSD currency pair is always as EURUSD, with the EUR being the base currency, and the USD being the terms currency, not the other way round with the USD first. Therefore if the chart of the EURUSD shows that the current price is fluctuating around 1.2155, this means that 1 EURO will buy around 1.2155 US dollars.


And your trade size (face value) is the amount of base currency that you're trading. In this example, if you want to buy 100 000 EURUSD, you're buying 100 000 EUROs.

Now let's have a look at the 5 important steps on how to read a forex chart:

1. If you buy the currency pair, that is, you're long the position, realise that you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go up, to make a profit on the trade. That is, you want the base currency to strengthen against the terms currency.

On the other hand if you sell the currency pair to short the position, then you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go down, to make a profit. That is, you want the base currency to weaken against the terms currency.

Pretty simple so far.


2. Always check the time frame displayed. Many trading systems will use multiple time frames to determine the entry of a trade. For example, a system may use a 4 hour and a 30 minute chart to determine the overall trend of the currency pair by using indicators such as MACD, momentum, or support and resistance lines, and then a 5 minute chart to look for a rise from a temporary dip to determine the actual entry.

So ensure that the chart you're looking at has the correct time frame for your analysis. The best way to do this is to set up your charts with the correct time frames and indicators on them for the system you're trading, and to save and reuse this layout.

3. On most forex charts, it is the BID price rather than the ask price that's displayed on the chart. Remember that a price is always quoted with a bid and an ask (or offer). For example, the current price of EURUSD may be 1.2055 bid and 1.2058 ask (or offer). When you buy, you buy at the ask, which is the higher of the 2 prices in the spread, and when you sell, you sell at the bid, which is the lower of the two prices.

If you use the chart price to determine an entry or exit, realise that when you place an order to sell when the chart price is say 1.330, then this is the price that you'll sell at assuming no slippage.

If on the other hand, you place an order to buy when the chart price is the same price, then you'll actually buy at 1.3333. A forex system will often determine whether your orders will be placed simply according to the chart price or whether you need to add a buffer when buying or selling.

Also note that on many platforms, when you're placing stop orders (to buy if the price rises above a certain price, or sell when the price falls below a certain price) you can select either "stop if bid" or "stop if offered".

4. Realise that the times shown on the bottom of forex charts are set to the particular time zone that the forex provider's charts are set to, be it GMT, New York time, or other time zones.

It's handy to have a world clock available on your computer desktop in order to convert the different time zones. This is important when you're trading major economic announcements.

You'll need to convert the time of an announcement to your local time, and the chart time, so you'll know when the announcement is going to happen, and therefore when you need to trade.

5. Finally, check whether the times on your forex charts corresponds to when the candle opens or when the candle closes. Your charting software may be different to someone else's in this way.

The reason I mention this, is that if you need to trade major economic announcements, either by entering a trade based on the movements that happen after the announcement, or to exit a trade before the announcement in avoid getting stopped out during it, then you need to be precise (to the minute!) as these trades are performed according to what happens at the 1 minute immediately after the announcement, not the candle afterwards!

So there you have it.

Fundamental Versus Technical Analysis

While technical analysis concentrates on the study of market action, fundamental analysis focuses on the economic forces which cause prices to move higher, or lower, or stay the same. The fundamental approach examines all of the relevant factors affecting the exchange-rate between two currencies to determine the intrinsic value of each currency.



The intrinsic value is what the fundamentals indicate one currency is actually worth against another currency. If this intrinsic value is under the current market price, then the currency is overpriced and should be sold. If market price is below the intrinsic value, then the market is undervalued and should be bought. Both of these approaches to market forecasting attempt to solve the same problem, that is, to determine the direction prices are likely to move. They just approach the problem from different directions.



A "fundamentalist" studies the cause of market movement, while a technician studies the effect. Most market traders classify themselves as either technicians or fundamentalists. In reality, there is a lot of overlap. Most fundamentalists have a working knowledge of the basic tenets of chart analysis. At the same time, most technicians have at least a passing awareness of the fundamentals.



The problem is that the charts and fundamentals are often in conflict with each other. Usually at the beginning of important market moves, the fundamentals do not explain or support what the market seems to be doing. It is at these critical times in the trend that these two approaches seem to differ the most. Usually they come back into sync at some point, but often too late for the trader to act. One explanation for these seeming discrepancies is that market price tends to lead the known fundamentals.



Stated another way, market price acts as a leading indicator of the fundamentals or the conventional wisdom of the moment. While the known fundamentals have already been discounted and are already "in the market," prices are now reacting to the unknown fundamentals. Some of the most dramatic market movements in history have begun with little or no perceived change in the fundamentals. By the time those changes became known, the new trend was well underway.

Meta Trader 4 Platform

As of today, MetaTrader 4 is one of the most innovative and powerful trading platforms. It outperforms and stands out from competition - on the the average machine MetaTrader 4 can serve over 10,000 traders working with multiple accounts simultaneously. The server is capable of processing dozens of different financial instruments with quotes history going back many years.

From a technical standpoint, the MetaTrader 4 platform is a lot more than just a state-of-the art trading platform utilizing the IT industry best practices and latest developments. Its distributed architecture, robust security system, convenient mobile trading, and innovative automated trading are some of the core competences that give MetaTrader 4 its compelling competitive advantages, thus offering the perfect solution to the most demanding trading needs.

MetaTrader 4 combines an accessible, user-friendly interface with a wide range of powerful of functions, making it a highly flexible platform. It enables to easily and efficiently manage the set-up of traders' groups, financial instruments, databases, data feeders and many others. The Introducing Brokers (IB) service is also available. With MetaTrader 4, you can easily set up an efficient network of your company branches and manage it with a great deal of accuracy.

Among a great many key competitive advantages of MetaTrader 4 are multi-currency and multi-language support, effectiveness and performance, reliability and security. The platform contains Application Program Interface (MetaTrader 4 API) that makes it possible to extend its functionality and integration with any other systems. Moreover, you get access to ready plug-ins designed to facilitate various aspects of the platform operation.

These advantages have made MetaTrader 4 the most popular trading platform in the world. The fact that hundreds of brokerage companies and traders choose MetaTrader 4 is the best testimony that it delivers outstanding value and meets their expectations.

Reading Quotes

When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), the forex quote would look like this:

USD/JPY = 119.50

This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency (in this case, the U.S. dollar) is always equal to one unit (in this case, US$1), and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that US$1 = 119.50 Japanese yen. In other words, US$1 can buy 119.50 Japanese yen. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies in question.

Pips Spread Definition & Summary

What do you understand by the term pip? Definition for the term may confuse you if you are new to the forex market. Here is everything you need to know about pips, what they are and how they are important to the forex market.

#1- Definition-a pip is essentially the smallest price unit that is traded with respect to a currency. It is actually a shortened form of 'percentage in points'. As most currencies are usually traded up to four decimal points, a pip would indicate a value of.0001 i.e. one hundredths of a cent! Sounds incredibly tiny? Well, not really! You see, a standard trade in the forex market would translate into a value of $100000. So, a pip here would be equal to $10! Doesn't sound that tiny now, does it?

#2-The Spread- currency trading always comes in pairs. So, if you are buying a currency, you are naturally selling another. In actively traded pairs, the spread may be as little as 2 pips.

#3-The Pips spread- this is very important to you as a trader. In a forex market, there are no broker fees to be paid. However, the difference in spread is the total cost for the transaction. You should always take this into consideration when you are estimating profits.

#4- The Factors Affecting the Pip Spread- the currencies that are active on the market have a lower pip spread. However, you should remember that these pip spreads are not fixed. They may fluctuate with changes in the market. It is a better idea to verify the spread offered by your broker before you go for a trade.

#5-The Pip Value- as a forex trader, you understand that the currencies are fluctuating all the time. So how do you decide the pip value? If a USD is your base currency, divide a pip with the exchange rate and that's your pip value! If the USD is the quote currency, your task is easy! Your value is 1 pip itself!

Trading During Economic or Geo Political News releases

WSBrokers does allow trading during the news. However, we wish to warn clients of the dangers associated with such, namely: During major Geo Political News releases markets may become extremely volatile. It is not uncommon to see prices gap and move in increments of 20, 30, or even more than 50 pips at a time. Because of potential price gaps WSBrokers cannot guarantee fills during news releases. Orders may be filled at the next available price and will not always be filled at the requested price or stop. News releases may also cause wider spreads than are typically seen during normal trading hours. We advise traders to use discretion when trading during the news. Please be advised that due to the volatility of price fluctuations during the news, it is possible to see a delay in execution due to the additional verification necessary for each trade. To view an economic calendar of major news releases and their times please follow this link:
https://wsbrokers.com/News/EconomicCalendar.aspx

Margin Call in the Forex Market

Many new Forex traders all of sudden receive a margin call. Maybe they did not educate themselves properly about forex trading and started trading. Have you ever received the dreaded forex margin call? Whatever, you must be very clear about what is a forex margin call. But contrary to the popular opinion that a margin call represents that worst case scenario for the currency trader, this is far from the truth. The risk that is assumed when trading aggressively the currency markets often results in receiving a margin call. The worst case could be far worse.


If there would have been no margin call, the possibility of owing additional funds to your broker in case of a loss could not be ruled out. To owe additional funds to the broker is actually the worse case scenario. A margin call protects a trader from losing 100% or even more of the money in the trading account. A margin call is in fact a safeguard. The uncomfortable position of owing additional funds to the forex broker is largely avoided because of the existence of the margin call.

If you have been trading stocks you might have actually received a call or a text message from your stock broker that you need to add more funds to your trading account. So in stock trading, you will receive an actual call from your stock broker to add more funds to your margin account when equity is running low in your stock trading account. A margin call is not actually a physical call from your broker in forex trading unlike the world of stock trading.

In forex trading when the trader no longer has enough equity in the trading account to keep the open positions viable, the trading platform software automatically closes out all the open positions and immediately realizes all losses at the prevailing market rates.

Prices can move extremely fast in forex markets and because of the high leverage used, every price move is magnified. There are good reasons for automated margin calls in forex trading, although this may seem a bit cold hearted.

The trading account can become depleted very quickly with not enough time to call for more funds when the traders equity runs low in forex trading. The forex margin call closes all open positions to help ensure that the trader does not lose the entire account or worse as a safeguard measure.

Lets make it clear with an example. Suppose you have $1500 in your trading account. So exactly when is a margin call triggered? This depends exactly on the number and the size of the lots being traded, the leverage chosen and the equity in the account. Suppose you use a leverage of 100:1 to trade in standard lots of $100,000.

You want to trade one lot of EUR/USD. Since your account is in US Dollars, you need to convert it into Euros. Suppose the EUR/USD exchange rate is 1.3465. So you need $1346 to trade standard lot Euros 100,000 of EUR/USD. This is because Euros 1000 are needed to control Euros 100,000.

Suppose you are a new forex trader. You dont know much about forex trading. However you have read that it is a great opportunity to make money. Naturally you are very enthusiastic about trading forex as quickly as possible. So you dont know that stop losses are used to minimize downside risk in trading. You start trading without putting stop losses in place. Your trading account has $1500. The margin required to keep the trade open is $1346. Each pip is exactly equal to $10 in this case.

There are no stop losses in place. The chances are you are going to receive a margin call soon. When can you expect to receive a margin call? You will receive a margin call when your equity drops below $1346. You have $1500 equity in your trading account. Your open position will be automatically closed when you receive a margin call. That means once you lose the excess equity in your account above the margin required to trade a standard lot that is $1500-$1346= $154. Assuming that there are no spreads involved. This is equal to just 15.4 pips loss. This example will make it clear the fast moving nature of the forex market and how using high leverage can suddenly result in getting a margin call.

What affects the prices of currencies?

Currency prices (exchange rates) are affected by a variety of economic and political conditions, most importantly interest rates, inflation and political stability. Moreover, governments sometimes participate in the Forex market to influence the value of their currencies, either by flooding the market with their domestic currency in an attempt to lower price, or conversely buying in order to raise the price. This is known as Central Bank intervention. Any of these factors, as well as large market orders, can cause high volatility in currency prices. However, the size and volume of the Forex market makes it impossible for any one entity to "drive" the market for any length of time.

What is Sport Maket

A commodities or securities market in which goods are sold for cash and delivered immediately. Contracts bought and sold on these markets are immediately effective.

A futures transaction for which commodities can be reasonably expected to be delivered in one month or less. Though these goods may be bought and sold at spot prices, the goods in question are traded on a forward physical market.

Advantages of the Forex Market

When people think finance, they often think of Forex, or Foreign Exchange. Foreign Exchange is just what you thought it is – the exchange of foreign currencies. It is similar to the stock market in a sense, but does have both its advantages, and disadvantages. Nonetheless, it is a great market, and given you know what you are doing, has the potential to make one lots, and lots of money.
Firstly, we will focus on the advantages of the Forex Market.

Trading around the clock
The great thing about Forex is trading hours. At 3PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, the market begins, and it closes at 5PM on Friday. Thus, it is easy to work, no matter what time zone you are located in. Time is not an issue.

Small investment
The investment required to join Forex is nowhere near as much as is required in some other markets (for example, the stock market). One can start in the Forex market with only $100.

Liquidity
Statistics show that 3 trillion dollars are traded in the Forex Market every day. With so much being traded daily, Forex traders do not have a problem making money.

Trading internationally
With the Forex market, you can trade from anywhere in the world, with anywhere in the world. As long as you have a PC and a connection to the internet, you’re good to go.

You can make money, either way
Even if the economy is not at its best, you can still make money with Forex. When looking at the stock market, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to make decent money during a hard-hit economy. With Forex, currency exchange rates continue to fluctuate constantly, meaning there is a higher chance to profit.

The simplicity
Once again, comparing to the stock market, the Forex market does not have many currency pairs. Thus, it is much easier to keep track of things. With the stock market, there are thousands and thousands of stocks, making things much more complicated.

Demo Accounts
Many people want to join a new market, but with joining a new market, comes hesitancy. Thus, Forex offers a free demo account to anybody who wants one. With a demo account, you are doing exactly what you would with a real account, except the money is obviously not real. The demo account gives those that are hesitant a chance to get a feel for the market, and see how much potential there is to make money.
Needless to say, the Forex Market is one that is allowing millions of people around the world to profit, right from the comfort of their home. For anybody who has not yet checked out the buzz around Forex, they should do so. Who knows, you may hit it big with Forex!

Spots Market and Futures Market

Spots Markets
More specifically, the spot market is where currencies are bought and sold according to the current price. That price, determined by supply and demand, is a reflection of many things, including current interest rates, economic performance, sentiment towards ongoing political situations (both locally and internationally), as well as the perception of the future performance of one currency against another. It is a bilateral transaction by which one party delivers an agreed-upon currency amount to the counter party and receives a specified amount of another currency at the agreed-upon exchange rate value.

Futures Markets
In the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard size and settlement date on public commodities markets, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In the U.S., the National Futures Association regulates the futures market. Futures contracts have specific details, including the number of units being traded, delivery and settlement dates.

Risks of the Forex Market

Every FOREX currency trading system has inherent risks

Despite the claims you may see on some FOREX web sites, FOREX is not risk-free. You are trading with substantial sums of money and there is always a possibility that trades will go against you. There are several trading tools, however, that can minimize your risk, and with caution, and above all education, the FOREX trader can learn how to trade profitably and while minimizing losses.

Scams

FOREX scams were fairly common a few years ago. The industry has cleaned up considerably since then, but you still need to exercise caution when signing up with a FOREX broker. Do some background checking – reputable FOREX brokers will be associated with large financial institutions like banks or insurance companies and they will be registered with the proper government agencies. In the United States brokers should be registered with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or a member of the National Futures Association (NFA). You can also check with your local Consumer Protection Bureau and the Better Business Bureau.

Risks

Assuming you are dealing with a reputable broker, there are still risks to FOREX trading. Transactions are subject to unexpected rate changes, volatile markets and political events.

Exchange Rate Risk – refers to the fluctuations in currency prices over a trading period. Prices can fall rapidly resulting in substantial losses unless stop loss orders are used when trading FOREX. Stop loss orders specify that the open position should be closed if currency prices pass a predetermined level. Stop loss orders can be used in conjunction with limit orders to automate FOREX trading – limit orders specify an open position should be closed at a specified profit target.

Interest Rate Risk – can result from discrepancies between the interest rates in the two countries represented by the currency pair in a FOREX quote. This discrepancy can result in variations from the expected profit or loss of a particular FOREX transaction.

Credit Risk – is the possibility that one party in a FOREX transaction may not honor their debt when the deal is closed. This may happen when a bank or financial institution declares insolvency. Credit risk is minimized by dealing on regulated exchanges which require members to be monitored for credit worthiness.

Country Risk – is associated with governments that may become involved in foreign exchange markets by limiting the flow of currency. There is more country risk associated with 'exotic' currencies than with major currencies that allow the free trading of their currency.

Limiting Risk in your FOREX currency trading system

FOREX trading can be risky, but there are ways to limit risk and financial exposure. Every FOREX trader should have a trading strategy – knowing when to enter and exit the market and what kind of movements to expect. Developing strategies requires education - the key to limiting FOREX risk. At all times follow the basic rule: Do not place money in the FOREX that you cannot afford to lose.

Every FOREX trader needs to know at least the basics about technical analysis and how to read financial charts. He should study chart movements and indicators and understand how charts are interpreted. There is a vast amount of information on FOREX trading available both on the Internet and in print. If you want to be successful at FOREX, know what you are doing.

Even the most knowledgeable traders, however, can't predict with absolute certainty how the market will behave. For this reason, every FOREX transaction should take advantage of available tools designed to minimize loss. Stop-loss orders are the most common ways of minimizing risk when placing an entry order. A stop-loss order contains instructions to exit your position if the currency price reaches a certain point. If you take a long position (expecting the price to rise) you would place a stop loss order below current market price. If you take a short position (expecting the price to fall) you would place a stop loss order above current market price.

As an example, if you take a short position on USD/CDN it means you expect the US dollar to fall against the Canadian dollar. The quote is USD/CDN 1.2138/43 - you can sell US$1 for 1.2138 CDN dollars or sell 1.2143 CDN dollars for US$1.

You place an order like this:

Sell USD: 1 standard lot USD/CDN @ 1.2138 = $121,380 CDN
Pip Value: 1 pip = $10
Stop-Loss: 1.2148
Margin: $1,000 (1%)

You are selling US$100,000 and buying CDN$121,380. Your stop loss order will be executed if the dollar goes above 1.2148, in which case you will lose $100.

However, USD/CDN falls to 1.2118/23. You can now sell $1 US for 1.2118 CDN or sell 1.2123 CDN for $1 US.

Because you entered the transaction by selling US dollars (buying short), you must now buy back US dollars and sell CDN dollars to realize your profit.

You buy back US$100,000 at the current USD/CDN rate of 1.2123 for a cost of 121,223 CDN. Since you originally sold them for CDN$121,380 you made a profit of $157 Canadian dollars or US$129.51 (157 divided by the current exchange rate of 1.2123).

How To Read Forex Charts ?

Learning the basic skills in Forex, such as how to read Forex charts, is really important.

This is because once you have this vital skill under your belt, it will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes for you to learn and practice an actual Forex trading system.

By the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to read Forex charts, as well as know the pitfalls that can occur when reading them, especially if you haven't traded forex before.

Firstly, let's revise the basics of a forex trading as this relates directly to how to reade forex charts.

Each currency pair is always quoted in the same way. For example, the EURUSD currency pair is always as EURUSD, with the EUR being the base currency, and the USD being the terms currency, not the other way round with the USD first. Therefore if the chart of the EURUSD shows that the current price is fluctuating around 1.2155, this means that 1 EURO will buy around 1.2155 US dollars.


And your trade size (face value) is the amount of base currency that you're trading. In this example, if you want to buy 100 000 EURUSD, you're buying 100 000 EUROs.

Now let's have a look at the 5 important steps on how to read a forex chart:

1. If you buy the currency pair, that is, you're long the position, realise that you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go up, to make a profit on the trade. That is, you want the base currency to strengthen against the terms currency.

On the other hand if you sell the currency pair to short the position, then you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go down, to make a profit. That is, you want the base currency to weaken against the terms currency.

Pretty simple so far.

2. Always check the time frame displayed. Many trading systems will use multiple time frames to determine the entry of a trade. For example, a system may use a 4 hour and a 30 minute chart to determine the overall trend of the currency pair by using indicators such as MACD, momentum, or support and resistance lines, and then a 5 minute chart to look for a rise from a temporary dip to determine the actual entry.

So ensure that the chart you're looking at has the correct time frame for your analysis. The best way to do this is to set up your charts with the correct time frames and indicators on them for the system you're trading, and to save and reuse this layout.

3. On most forex charts, it is the BID price rather than the ask price that's displayed on the chart. Remember that a price is always quoted with a bid and an ask (or offer). For example, the current price of EURUSD may be 1.2055 bid and 1.2058 ask (or offer). When you buy, you buy at the ask, which is the higher of the 2 prices in the spread, and when you sell, you sell at the bid, which is the lower of the two prices.

If you use the chart price to determine an entry or exit, realise that when you place an order to sell when the chart price is say 1.330, then this is the price that you'll sell at assuming no slippage.

If on the other hand, you place an order to buy when the chart price is the same price, then you'll actually buy at 1.3333. A forex system will often determine whether your orders will be placed simply according to the chart price or whether you need to add a buffer when buying or selling.

Also note that on many platforms, when you're placing stop orders (to buy if the price rises above a certain price, or sell when the price falls below a certain price) you can select either "stop if bid" or "stop if offered".

4. Realise that the times shown on the bottom of forex charts are set to the particular time zone that the forex provider's charts are set to, be it GMT, New York time, or other time zones.

It's handy to have a world clock available on your computer desktop in order to convert the different time zones. This is important when you're trading major economic announcements.

You'll need to convert the time of an announcement to your local time, and the chart time, so you'll know when the announcement is going to happen, and therefore when you need to trade.

5. Finally, check whether the times on your forex charts corresponds to when the candle opens or when the candle closes. Your charting software may be different to someone else's in this way.

The reason I mention this, is that if you need to trade major economic announcements, either by entering a trade based on the movements that happen after the announcement, or to exit a trade before the announcement in avoid getting stopped out during it, then you need to be precise (to the minute!) as these trades are performed according to what happens at the 1 minute immediately after the announcement, not the candle afterwards!

So there you have it.

You now have the 5 essential keys to how to properly read forex charts, which will help you to avoid the common mistakes which many forex beginners make when looking at charts, and which will speed up your progress when you're looking at forex charting packages, and forex trading systems that you want to trade!

Now that you know this, practice looking at forex charts with each of these 5 points in mind.

So get to it!

How to Choose a Forex Broker

With so many different choices out there, how does a Forex "newbie" pick a broker? Chances are most new traders have no idea on where to start - and that's okay! We're here to help! We have put together a simple three step process to help you find a broker that YOU think will best suit YOUR needs. You might be thinking now, "Three steps? That's it?" Yesssiirrrr!

In the first step, you will go through some of the main questions you need ask yourself when reviewing different brokers. Then you will take a look at different brokers and their available features. We have put together a comparison guide by taking some of the most frequently asked questions across the internet, and surveyed some of the most frequently asked about brokers out there, so that you don't have to.
With this guide, you can narrow your choices down and take the final step of talking with different brokers and demo trading on different platforms. Simple, right? Let's begin...

Step 1: Do your research

Before comparing brokers, do you know what to look for? No? Well, here are a few of the main questions you should ask yourself:
1. Is this broker registered with any regulating authorities? Check to see if your broker of choice is registered with the National Futures Association (NFA) or Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) if they're based in the US. If the broker is based in the United Kingdom, check with the Financial Service Authority (FSA). If the broker isn't registered with any of these or any other recognized regulating firm, then you may want to think twice before signing up with them.
2. Dealing Desk or Non-Dealing Desk broker? Does the broker offer fixed or non-fixed spreads? How wide are the spreads? These questions are more significant to those traders who like to take quick profits on a few pips. Large and/or variable spreads can cut into the profits of this type of trading strategy.
3. How much or how little leverage will a broker give you? We highly recommend you review "Leverage the Killer"before deciding on how much leverage would be suitable for your trading style. The phrase, "Less is More," can save every newbie
4. Of course, you’re not going to start trading with real money right away, right? Well, when you do having a winning strategy and you are ready to trade live; knowing how much risk capital you have to start with makes a big difference. If you have $2000 or less to start with then you probably want to start trading "micro" lots. Not every broker has this feature.
5. Does this broker credit or debit daily rollover interest? Some brokers either do both, deduct interest, or neither. This information is important to traders who hold positions overnight.
6. Does this broker over premium services such as charting, news feeds, and market commentary? How important are premium services to my trading?

Step 2: Compare brokers

I will suggest you one of the best brokers with gives u best offers and low spreads which is WSBROKERS , you can see their offers through this link http://www.wsbrokers.com/

Step 3: Open demo accounts and ask questions.

Pick at least two brokers that fits most of your criteria and open up demo accounts. Trade in different market environments. Learn all the different features of each trading platform. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask. Many brokers have excellent customer service support and would be happy to answer your questions.
Most demo trading platforms are very similar to their live counterparts, but not exactly the same. There may be a difference in speed of execution, slippage, and platform reliability (most of the time live accounts are more reliable than demo accounts). When you do have your strategy down and you are ready to move to a live account, start off small, test the waters, and see if this particular broker will suit your trading needs.