I bet you’re wondering, “How do I use this USDX in my trading arsenal?” Well, hold your trigger finger and you’ll soon find out! We all know that most of the widely traded currency pairs include the U.S. dollar. If you don’t know, some that include the U.S. dollar are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY, and USD/CAD. What does this mean?…
Just like any currency pair, the US Dollar Index (USDX) even has its own chart. Holler at the U.S. Dollar Index: First, notice that the index is calculated 24 hours a day, five days a week. Also, the US Dollar Index (USDX) measures the dollar’s general value relative to a base of 100.000. Huh?!? Okay. For example,…
If you’ve traded stocks, you’re probably familiar with all the indices available such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), NASDAQ Composite Index, Russell 2000, S&P 500, Wilshire 5000, and the Nimbus 2001. Oh wait, that last one is actually Harry Potter’s broomstick. Well if U.S. stocks have an index, the U.S. dollar can’t…
Forex brokers will quote you two different prices for a currency pair: the bid and ask price. The “bid” is the price at which you can SELL the base currency. The “ask” is the price at which you can BUY the base currency. The difference between these two prices is known as the spread. Also known as the “bid/ask spread“….
Forex is commonly traded in specific amounts called lots, or basically the number of currency units you will buy or sell. A “lot” is a unit measuring a transaction amount. When you place orders on your trading platform, orders are placed in sizes quoted in lots. It’s like an egg carton (or egg box in British English). When you buy eggs, you usually…
Here is where we’re going to do a little math. Just a little bit. You’ve probably heard of the terms “pips,” “points“, “pipettes,” and “lots” thrown around, and now we’re going to explain what they are and show you how their values are calculated. Take your time with this information, as it is required knowledge…
Forex trading involves trying to predict which currency will rise or fall versus another currency. How do you know when to buy or sell a currency pair? In the following examples, we are going to use a little fundamental analysis to help us decide whether to buy or sell a specific currency pair. The supply and…
What is forex trading? How does forex trading work? In the forex market, you buy or sell currencies. Placing a trade in the foreign exchange market is simple. The mechanics of a trade are very similar to those found in other financial markets (like the stock market), so if you have any experience in trading, you should…
Because forex is so awesome, traders came up with a number of different ways to invest or speculate in currencies. Among the financial instruments, the most popular ones are retail forex, spot FX, currency futures, currency options, currency exchange-traded funds (or ETFs), forex CFDs, and forex spread betting. It’s important to point out that we are covering the different ways that individual (“retail”) traders can trade…
The bulk of forex trading takes place on what’s called the “interbank market“. Unlike other financial markets like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or London Stock Exchange (LSE), the forex market has neither a physical location nor a central exchange. The forex market is considered an over-the-counter (OTC) market due to the fact that the entire market…