Forex trends: soaring vs European majors, yen hits 2-week low vs dollar

Forex trends: soaring vs European majors, yen hits 2-week low vs dollar

Thursday, during Asian session the Japanese unit revealed mixed trading versus its key counterparts. Yen, thus, hit a 2-day high against the euro and crept higher against the pound and the franc. On the other hand the Japanese currency plummeted to a almost 2-week low against the dollar due to across the board rallying of the latter.


Against the currency of Europe, the yen climbed to a 2-day high of 129.60 by about 11:45 pm ET Wednesday. The next resistance level for the yen is seen at 128.8. EUR/JPY rally closed Wednesday's New York deals at 130.8.

During Asian deals on Wednesday, the yen strengthened to 146.29 against the British pound, by about 8:50 pm ET. Since then, the pair has been showing choppy trading and is presently quoted at 146.60. GBP/JPY pair closed Wednesday's deals at 146.67.

The Japanese yen advanced against its Swiss counterpart during Asian trading on Thursday. At about 10:15 pm ET, the yen reached 86.02 versus the franc, compared to 86.48 hit late Wednesday in New York. The next upside target for the yen is seen around the 85.43 level.

The Japanese yen tumbled to a 13-day low of 90.28 against the dollar around 11:45 pm ET, compared to 89.79 hit late New York Wednesday. The next downside target level for the yen is seen around the 90.4 level.

read more...

Forex Commentary: Fed’s Statement Fails To Fuel US Dollar Rally

The U.S. Dollar erased earlier losses after the Federal Reserve released its monetary policy statement. The Dollar turned higher after trading most of the day lower after the Federal Open Market Committee offered more detailed plans to remove excess liquidity from the financial system.

The Fed also offered commentary on the economy, saying that deterioration in the labor market is “abating.” This statement is a reaction to the decline in the unemployment rate earlier in the month from 10.2% to 10.0%. The Fed did reiterate, however, that it will keep its benchmark interest rate at a historically low level for “an extended period.”

read more...

Dollar Gets Boost From Upbeat Fed View On Economy

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The dollar was modestly higher against the euro and yen Wednesday on the back of the Federal Reserve's upbeat view on the U.S. economy.

The Federal Open Market Committee's acknowledgment that the economy is picking up steam partly overshadowed its commitment to keep interest rates near zero "for an extended period" in its post-meeting statement.

As the FOMC decision and statement were largely in line with market expectations, the dollar's rebound was limited and it failed to climb above Y90 or push the euro below $1.45.

"The Fed was a little more upbeat on the economy than ...

read more...

Forex History - The Evolution OF FX Market

The Gold Exchange and the Bretton Woods Agreement


In 1967, a Chicago bank refused a college professor by the name of Milton Friedman a loan in pound sterling because he had intended to use the funds to short the British currency. Friedman, who had perceived sterling to be priced too high against the dollar, wanted to sell the currency, then later buy it back to repay the bank after the currency declined, thus pocketing a quick profit. The bank’s refusal to grant the loan was due to the Bretton Woods Agreement, established twenty years earlier, which fixed national currencies against the dollar, and set the dollar at a rate of $35 per ounce of gold...
!...Read More...!

The Bretton Woods Agreement, set up in 1944, aimed at installing international monetary stability by preventing money from fleeing across nations, and restricting speculation in the world currencies. Prior to the Agreement, the gold exchange standard--prevailing between 1876 and World War I--dominated the international economic system. Under the gold exchange, currencies gained a new phase of stability as they were backed by the price of gold. It abolished the age-old practice used by kings and rulers of arbitrarily debasing money and triggering inflation.

But the gold exchange standard didn’t lack faults. As an economy strengthened, it would import heavily from abroad until it ran down its gold reserves required to back its money; consequently, the money supply would shrink, interest rates rose and economic activity slowed to the extent of recession. Ultimately, prices of goods had hit bottom, appearing attractive to other nations, who would rush into buying sprees that injected the economy with gold until it increased its money supply, and drive down interest rates and recreate wealth into the economy. Such boom-bust patterns prevailed throughout the gold standard until the outbreak of World War I interrupted trade flows and the free movement of gold.

After the Wars, the Bretton Woods Agreement was founded, where participating countries agreed to try and maintain the value of their currency with a narrow margin against the dollar and a corresponding rate of gold as needed. Countries were prohibited from devaluing their currencies to their trade advantage and were only allowed to do so for devaluations of less than 10%. Into the 1950s, the ever-expanding volume of international trade led to massive movements of capital generated by post-war construction. That destabilized foreign exchange rates as setup in Bretton Woods.

The Agreement was finally abandoned in 1971, and the US dollar would no longer be convertible into gold. By 1973, currencies of major industrialized nations floated more freely, as they were controlled mainly by the forces of supply and demand. Prices were floated daily, with volumes, speed and price volatility all increasing throughout the 1970s, giving rise to new financial instruments, market deregulation and trade liberalization.

In the 1980s, cross-border capital movements accelerated with the advent of computers and technology, extending market continuum through Asian, European and American time zones. Transactions in foreign exchange rocketed from about $70 billion a day in the 1980s, to more than $1.5 trillion a day two decades later.

read more...

How to profit using the e-currency exchange system

So you want to learn about the e-currency exchange program? I am sure you searched the Internet and saw tons of people talking about e-currency some people I am sure where saying good things about it, and I am sure you read bad things about it.

I myself find the e-currency exchange program to be a good investment if you want to make money down the line. No you won’t make thousands of dollars in a month and become rich, but what will happen is you will earn a good residual income down the line. The e-currency program isn’t a system that will make you rich over night.

However given time you can build up a nice size account, and earn a nice income each month. The e-currency system is a trading system that allows everyday people like you and I to earn from 1% up to 5% daily on our investment. Now you might be thinking no way that’s unheard of.

That’s what I thought to till I opened up and account, and invested a small amount of money into it. With a $400 investment I was making $3 a day from it. Now sure $3 isn’t much, but this is and investment that has to grow, and it will over time. Just think if you had say $5,000 in it. Then you would make more like $50 a day from it. That’s not bad if you ask me.

If you are looking for the easy way out, or a get rich quick system or easy money good luck finding it. The truth is there is no way to get rich over night or make easy money. It just isn’t going to happen. However if you ever did find one please let me know but I don’t think you ever will.

Gary Jezorski is the owner of and e-currency program guide that have helped millions of people turn small $200 investments into thousand dollar investments in a very short period of time. With Gary Jezorski’s program he offers free help to those that need it, and when I talk to him on the phone he answered all of my questions and most importantly he respected not only as a customer, but also as a person to.

read more...

Why Trade Forex?

Why Trade Forex? Can we Make Lots of Money from Forex Trading?


There are many varieties in Forex

In Forex trading, there are more than 30 currency pairs traded and most of the trading volumes are concentrated in about half of those. This is more than enough currency pairs to give you choices in which currency pairs to trade and help you make lots of money if you can trade successfully in most of them.

There are no fixed lot size in Forex

In Forex, the standard lot size is 100,000 units, but most brokers let you trade mini-lots of 10,000, and some even offer super mini lots as small as 100 units! For a new trader, this flexibility in lots size is an excellent money management tool for the trader. He or she can increase trade size as their knowledge in Forex trading and profits increases.

Forex is open 24-hours on weekdays

A Forex trader can start trading from late Sunday afternoon (U.S time) to the following late Friday evening. You may enter the market and exit as you like and trade for as long or as short a time as you wish

Low margin, high leverage

One of the most greatest advantages about trading Forex is that you can trade leverage ratios of from 10:1 up to 400:1 which means you may control 100,000 USD with from $10,000 to as little as $250. High leverage means that a very small move in the charts may result in a 100 percent profit or sadly, a loss.

Forex is very volatile

The Forex market can move up or down in a very short period of time. You can make huge profits if you know where the market is going at that point of time

You can trade Forex on the internet

Most Forex trading are conducted online, via the internet. You trade Forex on the broker's trading platforms. This trading platform includes real-time prices and you can place buy and sell orders and make use of its trading tools such as charts and indicators. And if the need arises, clients to call in orders by phone to their respective brokers

Forex is not related to the stock market.

Currencies are independent of the stock market and from an investment perspective, currency prices are non correlated with stock prices. For this reason Forex may be an attractive hedge to a larger stock market account.

There are no commissions in Forex

There are no fees whatsoever be it clearing, exchange fees, government fees, and best of all, no commissions. The only costs of trading Forex are within the bid/ask spread. For those brokers who use the electronic communications network (ECN) transactions may charge a small fee.

High liquidity

In Forex, it is easy to execute huge orders in foreign exchange because there are over $3 trillion in transactions daily. What ever the size of the order, it will be executed immediately in online Forex trading.

read more...

Online Forex Trading - Beginners Guide

Online Forex Trading - Beginners Guide

When it comes to forex trading, understanding the terminology and the forex trading strategies before you begin is vital. There are many web based companies that provide online forex trading tutorials that revolve around real time forex trading. Using a forex tutorial will give you the beginner knowledge you need to take part in trading forex.

After you have completed your forex tutorial there are some basic forex trading tips that all beginners will find useful. The most important thing to remember when trading forex and the most important forex trading strategy is to remember to always place stop loss orders. Using this strategy in your online forex trading will help to prevent and limit your losses.

The next important step for online forex trading is to take profit orders at the same time as placing your stop loss orders. This is done by using the OCO order function that is available with most online forex trading systems. Take profit orders work on the same basis as the stop loss orders and help to eliminate the risk of locking into a profit too early.

Another beginner’s tip is to use a positive risk/reward ratio. This means that you should choose the amount you are willing to make on your forex trade beforehand and it should be more than or equal to the amount that you are willing to loose. This tip is essential if you want to be successful in your forex trading.

It is important for any forex trading beginner to note that successful online forex trading takes patience and is a long term investment. It takes controlled forex trading along with discipline and patience to make your forex trading profitable. Continued research and forex tutorials and guides will help you to learn more and remember as with all successful ventures; knowledge equals power.

read more...

Retail foreign exchange brokers

There are two types of retail brokers offering the opportunity for speculative trading: retail foreign exchange brokers and market makers. Retail traders (individuals) are a small fraction of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks. Retail brokers, while largely controlled and regulated by the CFTC and NFA might be subject to foreign exchange scams. At present, the NFA and CFTC are imposing stricter requirements, particularly in relation to the amount of Net Capitalization required of its members. As a result many of the smaller, and perhaps questionable brokers are now gone. It is not widely understood that retail brokers and market makers typically trade against their clients and frequently take the other side of their trades. This can often create a potential conflict of interest and give rise to some of the unpleasant experiences some traders have had. A move toward NDD (No Dealing Desk) and STP (Straight Through Processing) has helped to resolve some of these concerns and restore trader confidence, but caution is still advised in ensuring that all is as it is presented

read more...

Wireless trading and account access

As a FOREX.com client or registered practice account user, you can access the currency markets via virtually any Internet-enabled wireless device. Keep on top of the market from anywhere – you can view real-time forex quotes, news and commentary, and charts and set rate alerts. You can also monitor your open positions, leave orders, even buy and sell at the market.

There are no extra fees, and no special sign up. All you need is an Internet-enabled wireless device

read more...

Trader education, mentoring services, and more

FOREX.com delivers hands-on forex training through a variety of educational programs and events. For traders just getting started in the Forex market, we offer one-on-one platform walkthroughs, online training courses, as well as live, introductory web-based seminars ("webinars").

Exclusive client-only events cover more in-depth trading techniques and strategies and include an interactive Q&A with our senior analysts and currency strategists.

As a FOREX.com client, you can also take advantage of our professional mentoring services. During your one-on-one consultations with a senior forex specialist, you can discuss the latest market research report, ask for a second opinion about your trading plan, or just bounce ideas around

read more...

Support for automated (API) trade executions

Trade currencies and spot gold at FOREX.com. Dealing spreads are as low as 1-2 pips on the most widely traded currency pairs. As always, you pay no commissions at FOREX.com, only the bid/offer spread. And with our fractional pips, you gain an extra digit of precision so that you can take advantage of smaller price movements.

Plus, you can enter orders at any price - even inside the spread - and trade around news events, major economic announcements and other times of high market volatility

read more...

Negative account balance protection

At FOREX.com, your risk is only limited to funds on deposit.

Our margin policy eliminates concerns about debit balances by guaranteeing that you will never owe more than you have in your account

read more...

Guaranteed fills on stop loss and limit orders

During FOREX.com's trading hours, all stop and limit orders up to $2 million are guaranteed to be filled at your price.

We understand that stop loss and limit orders are an important part of every trader's risk management strategy, and so we take this policy very seriously. This policy does not apply during major fundamental announcements, or outside FOREX.com's normal trading hours

read more...

Advanced tools & research

As a FOREX.com client, you'll have access to a variety of resources and unique trading tools that can help you make more informed trading decisions.

• Full suite of daily and weekly forex research. Whether you're interested in fundamental analysis or technical trading methods, you'll have access to a wide variety of institutional-grade Forex market analysis as a FOREX.com client. And, tune in to our Weekly Market Call for timely trading ideas and analysis from Brian Dolan, our Chief Currency Strategist.
• ForexInsider streaming market commentary: Our exclusive FOREXInsider delivers actionable analysis of news, events and technical levels that impact currency prices, in real-time, to your trading platform. Updates are published as often as 20 times an hour, so that you can act instantly on new market intelligence.
• FOREXCharts by eSignal: Access eSignal's professional level charting package with over 30 analytical tools and indicators, a complete selection of drawing tools, and choice of real-time data feed.

read more...

Award-winning forex trading platform

We pioneered our signature "one-click" dealing in 2000 and have been nominated as Best Forex Brokerage by the readers of Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities for the past two years.

Our proprietary trading platform, FOREXTrader, successfully combines ease-of-use with remarkable flexibility. FOREXTrader offers a highly intuitive user interface, advanced customization features, and a full suite of professional charting and order management tools.

read more...

Flexible account types and leverage

» Standard accounts, with a default lot size of 100K and leverage+ of 100:1 (1%), are well suited for active forex traders.

» Mini accounts feature smaller, 10k contract sizes and leverage+ of up to 200:1. For traders new to the forex market, a mini account is a great way to get started trading in a live environment.

read more...

Fully automated click & deal trading, with instantaneous fills

At FOREX.com, we've always automated processing for all click & deal forex trades. When you click BUY or SELL, our systems perform a real time margin check and, if accepted, immediately respond with a trade confirmation.

Why is this important to you? First, you benefit from an unbiased trading environment that is not subject to human intervention. Second, automated trade processing improves our efficiency, which lowers our overhead and allows us to pass along the saving to you in the form of tighter spreads.

read more...

Trade on spreads as low as 1-2 pips, commission-free

Trade currencies and spot gold at FOREX.com. Dealing spreads are as low as 1-2 pips on the most widely traded currency pairs. As always, you pay no commissions at FOREX.com, only the bid/offer spread. And with our fractional pips, you gain an extra digit of precision so that you can take advantage of smaller price movements.

Plus, you can enter orders at any price - even inside the spread - and trade around news events, major economic announcements and other times of high market volatility.

read more...

Getting Strarted FOREX

Maximize Your Tools

GFM provides multiple tools to help you become a better currency trader including free market news, and real time charts. The most valuable tool, however, is the GFM Demo account, which allows you to test out strategies and learn from your mistakes without risking real money.

Risk Management

Every successful trader should know how much risk he is willing to take, and what profits should result from the trade. This is the basis of every realistic trading strategy.




Maximize Your Tools
Risk Management
Two Ways to Trade
The Basics of Technical Analysis
Applying Technical Analysis
Fundamentals Everyone Should Know
Psychology of Trading


Two Ways to Trade

There are two types of traders, technical and fundamental. Both have a radically different approach to making trading decisions. Click here to find out which camp you belong to.

The Basics of Technical Analysis

All technical analysis starts with a few basic building blocks. With these as a foundation, you can start to make sound trading decisions.

Applying Technical Analysis

GFM provides tools for basic technical analysis. Click Here to test your knowledge of technical analysis.

Fundamentals Everyone Should Know

All Traders should understand why economic releases, interest rates, and international trade are important to movements in the currency market.

Psychology of Trading

The biggest enemy to most traders is not the market, but themselves. Learn four basic trading principals that will help you to avoid the four biggest mistakes that traders make.

read more...

What is Forex?

Forex, or Foreign Exchange, is the simultaneous buying of one currency while selling for another. This market of exchange has more buyers and sellers and daily volume than any other in the world. Taking place in the major financial institutions across the globe, the forex market is open 24-hours a day.


Buying/Selling

In the forex market currencies are always priced in pairs; therefore all trades result in the simultaneous buying of one currency and the selling of another. The objective of currency trading is to buy the currency that increases in value relative to the one you sold. If you have bought a currency and the price appreciates in value, then you must sell the currency back in order to lock in the profit.

Quoting Conventions

Currencies are quoted in pairs. The first listed currency is known as the base currency, while the second is called the counter or quote currency. In the wholesale market, currencies are quoted using five significant numbers, with the last placeholder called a point or a pip.

Like all financial products, FX quotes include a "bid" and "ask". By quoting both the bid and ask in real time, GFM ensures that traders always receive a fair price on all transactions. As in any traded instrument, there is an immediate cost in establishing a position. For example, USD/JPY may bid at 131.40 and ask at 131.45, this five-pip spread defines the trader’s cost, which can be recovered with a favorable currency move in the market.

Margin

The margin deposit is not a down payment on a purchase of equity, as many perceive margins to be in the stock markets. Rather, the margin is a performance bond, or good faith deposit, to ensure against trading losses. The margin requirement allows traders to hold a position much larger than the account value. GFM’ s online trading platform has margin management capabilities, which allow for this high leverage.

In the event that funds in the account fall below margin requirements, the GFM Dealing Desk will close all open positions. This prevents clients' accounts from falling into a negative balance, even in a highly volatile, fast moving market.

Rollover

For positions open at 5pm EST, there is a daily rollover interest rate a trader either pays or earns, depending on your established margin and position in the market. If you do not want to earn or pay interest on your positions, simply make sure it is closed at 5pm EST, the established end of the market day.

What Every Currency Trader Should Know

The forex market is one of the most popular markets for speculation due to its enormous size, liquidity, and tendency for currencies to move in strong trends. An enticing aspect of trading currencies is the high degree of leverage available. GFM allows positions to be leveraged up to 100:1. Without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to enormous swings between profit and loss. Knowing that even seasoned traders suffer losses, speculation in the forex market should only be conducted with risk capital funds that if lost will not significantly affect one's personal financial well being.

The GFM Mini account was designed for those new to online currency trading. There is a smaller deposit required to open an GFM Mini account and trading sizes are 1/10th the size of a regular account. The smaller trade size enables traders to take smaller risks. The GFM Mini is intended to introduce traders to the excitement of currency trading while minimizing risk.

read more...