The Forex Currency Market is the world’s largest financial trading market with an average daily turnover of $3.2 trillion. Some reports are that 95% of the traders experience losses. If this is true, the other 5% must be realizing enormous profits. Why do so many suffer losses and what can you do to become one of the 5 %?
The Forex Currency Market is a highly leveraged market, brokers offering from 50:1 to 200:1 leverage. A 50:1 leverage allows you to trade a $2,500.00 trading lot for only fifty dollars. A 200:1 leverage allows you to trade a $10,000.00 trading lot with $50.00. If either one of these trades moves against you by $50.00, you have lost 100% of your money. Trading in currency is done in PIP’s and a PIP in US dollars is 1% of 1 cent. A change of $1.0000 to $1.0001 is one PIP and is the smallest increment traded.
Trading the Forex Currency Market is in pairs and the spread between the values of each currency determines the profit or loss of the trade. Traders enter the trade in anticipation that the currency bought will increase in value, or be stable, and the currency sold will decrease in value or be stable. In the event that the value of both currencies remain the same or move up or down at the same rate no profit or loss will occur
The first step in insuring profitability is to plan a winning strategy. The most important element of your strategy is risk management. No one can predict the market with 100% certainties and steps must be taken to limit losses. Three provisions exist in The Forex Currency Market to aid in risk management, stop loss orders, 24 hour trading for five days a week and currencies are traded in pairs, buying one and selling the other.
· Stop loss orders are in PIPs and placed when entering the trade, taking into account the size of the trading lot. A one PIP change in a $10,000.00 trade lot value is $1.00 USD. You determine the risk you want to take. Consider that too small a risk could take you out of the trade on a minor correction which otherwise could be a very profitable trade.
· Financial announcements are normally made after the close of the market and until the appearance of the Forex Currency Market financial markets closed at the end of each trading day. The Forex Currency Market is a 24-hour market trading from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET. The down grade announcement of USA credit was made on a Friday after the close to let the panic that occurs to subside before the opening Sunday evening eastern standard time. The opening price can open out of the range of your stop loss order and a larger loss could occur than anticipated. Evaluate the risk of staying in the market over the weekend.
· Trading currencies in pairs reduces the risk of a large economic disruption causing a major loss in the account. Because the value of each currency would experience the same effect, little or no loss would occur.
Currencies frequently trade in repeating patterns such as up trends and down trends with shorter term trends embedded in the longer term trend. Momentum and volume are factors to consider. A candle stick chart indicates a price range for a period of time. The green bars illustrate the price being higher at the end of the time than at the beginning of the period, the red bar indicates the price being lower. As the bars lengthen these signals an increase in momentum and an increase in volume of trading lend support to the momentum. Study these patterns and form strategies for entering and exiting your trades. Some traders only trade certain times of the day for 15 to 20 minutes, such as at the London Foreign Exchange Market open and do very well.
Create your strategies and test them on a free demo account that many brokers offer. Brokers also offer training and tutorials on line. Test your risk management, remember the object is to limit the losses and let the profits grow. Never trade without the stop loss orders in place. If you elect to use a computer program to signal when to enter and exit the trade, test it on a demo account to insure it meets your strategy criteria; the same is true for automatic or robotic trading programs. These programs come with a 60 day 100% money back guaranty so you can test them in a free demo account without risk and insure they work for you.
Approach your trading as a business not a Las Vegas roulette wheel. Perfect your strategies especially the risk management strategy. Make use of leverage within reason for your situation. Don’t neglect your trades; be aware of what is happening. There is never anything wrong with taking a profit and staying out of the market, if you are unable to attend to your trades. Don’t let your trading become playing a roulette wheel.
Here’s to you and a profitable future trading in the Forex Currency Market.
