There are seven major currencies, the US dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Japanese yen (JPY) British pound (GBP), Swiss Franc (CHF) Canadian dollar (CAD) and Australian dollar (AUD). The US dollar is the most traded currency followed by the Euro and the Yen. The Euro is the relatively new currency of the European Union although some member states, including the UK, have not changed their currency. Also, if you live in a country using one of the major currencies, when you first start trading it makes sense to begin with that currency. Not only are you familiar and comfortable with the currency, but you are in a better position to judge its strength. The internet has a wealth of information on the financial climate of a country, but if you live there you have access to all newspaper content, as well being in the unique position of experiencing first hand changes at the consumer level.
Selasa, 05 Februari 2008
Forex Beginners
It is believe that more than 50% of Forex traders are losing money long term in the foreign currency exchange market. Yet, there are still a lot of Forex traders jump in to the market, trade blindly and lost their money. Trade after trade, its surprising to see that 'normally-losing' traders keep betting (not investing!) their money into Forex market without reviewing their trading strategy. No matter you are the experienced or the beginners, there are certain 'must-do' when trading Forex to manage the risk wisely and to increase your possibilities in making profits.
Kamis, 03 Januari 2008
Four Principles for Becoming a Better Trader
Trade with a DISCIPLINED Plan: The problem with many traders is that they take shopping more seriously than trading. The average shopper would not spend $400 without serious research and examination of the product he is about to purchase, yet the average trader would make a trade that could easily cost him $400 based on little more than a "feeling" or "hunch." Be sure that you have a plan in place BEFORE you start to trade. The plan must include stop and limit levels for the trade, as your analysis should encompass the expected downside as well as the expected upside.
Cut your losses early and Let your Profits Run: This simple concept is one of the most difficult to implement and is the cause of most traders demise. Most traders violate their predetermined plan and take their profits before reaching their profit target because they feel uncomfortable sitting on a profitable position. These same people will easily sit on losing positions, allowing the market to move against them for hundreds of points in hopes that the market will come back. In addition, traders who have had their stops hit a few times only to see the market go back in their favor once they are out, are quick to remove stops from their trading on the belief that this will always be the case. Stops are there to be hit, and to stop you from losing more then a predetermined amount! The mistaken belief is that every trade should be profitable. If you can get 3 out of 6 trades to be profitable then you are doing well. How then do you make money with only half of your trades being winners? You simply allow your profits on the winners to run and make sure that your losses are minimal.
Do not marry your trades: The reason trading with a plan is the #1 tip is because most objective analysis is done before the trade is executed. Once a trader is in a position he/she tends to analyze the market differently in the "hopes" that the market will move in a favorable direction rather than objectively looking at the changing factors that may have turned against your original analysis. This is especially true of losses. Traders with a losing position tend to marry their position, which causes them to disregard the fact that all signs point towards continued losses.
Do not bet the farm: Do not over trade. One of the most common mistakes that traders make is leveraging their account too high by trading much larger sizes than their account should prudently trade. Leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot (100,000 units) of currency only requires $1000 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $5000 in his account should be able to trade 5 lots. One lot is $100,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves. As a consequence of this, they are often forced to exit a position at the wrong time. A good rule of thumb is to trade with 1-10 leverage or never use more than 10% of your account at any given time. Trading currencies is not easy (if it was, everyone would be a millionaire!).
Cut your losses early and Let your Profits Run: This simple concept is one of the most difficult to implement and is the cause of most traders demise. Most traders violate their predetermined plan and take their profits before reaching their profit target because they feel uncomfortable sitting on a profitable position. These same people will easily sit on losing positions, allowing the market to move against them for hundreds of points in hopes that the market will come back. In addition, traders who have had their stops hit a few times only to see the market go back in their favor once they are out, are quick to remove stops from their trading on the belief that this will always be the case. Stops are there to be hit, and to stop you from losing more then a predetermined amount! The mistaken belief is that every trade should be profitable. If you can get 3 out of 6 trades to be profitable then you are doing well. How then do you make money with only half of your trades being winners? You simply allow your profits on the winners to run and make sure that your losses are minimal.
Do not marry your trades: The reason trading with a plan is the #1 tip is because most objective analysis is done before the trade is executed. Once a trader is in a position he/she tends to analyze the market differently in the "hopes" that the market will move in a favorable direction rather than objectively looking at the changing factors that may have turned against your original analysis. This is especially true of losses. Traders with a losing position tend to marry their position, which causes them to disregard the fact that all signs point towards continued losses.
Do not bet the farm: Do not over trade. One of the most common mistakes that traders make is leveraging their account too high by trading much larger sizes than their account should prudently trade. Leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot (100,000 units) of currency only requires $1000 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $5000 in his account should be able to trade 5 lots. One lot is $100,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves. As a consequence of this, they are often forced to exit a position at the wrong time. A good rule of thumb is to trade with 1-10 leverage or never use more than 10% of your account at any given time. Trading currencies is not easy (if it was, everyone would be a millionaire!).
Fundamentals Every Trader Should Know
Currency prices reflect the balance of supply and demand for currencies. Two primary factors affecting supply and demand are interest rates and the overall strength of the economy. Economic indicators such as GDP, foreign investment and the trade balance reflect the general health of an economy and are therefore responsible for the underlying shifts in supply and demand for that currency. There is a tremendous amount of data released at regular intervals, some of which is more important than others. Data related to interest rates and international trade is looked at the closest.
Interest Rates
If the market has uncertainty regarding interest rates, then any bit of news regarding interest rates can directly affect the currency markets. Traditionally, if a country raises its interest rates, the currency of that country will strengthen in relation to other countries as investors shift assets to that country to gain a higher return. Hikes in interest rates, however, are generally bad news for stock markets. Some investors will transfer money out of a country's stock market when interest rates are hiked, causing the country's currency to weaken. Which effect dominates can be tricky, but generally there is a consensus beforehand as to what the interest rate move will do. Indicators that have the biggest impact on interest rates are PPI, CPI, and GDP. Generally the timing of interest rate moves are known in advance. They take place after regularly scheduled meetings by the BOE, FED, ECB, BOJ, and other central banks.
International Trade
The trade balance shows the net difference over a period of time between a nation's exports and imports. When a country imports more than it exports the trade balance will show a deficit, which is generally considered unfavorable. For example, if U.S dollars are sold for other domestic national currencies (to pay for imports), the flow of dollars outside the country will depreciate the value of the currency. Similarly if trade figures show an increase in exports, dollars will flow into the United States and appreciate the value of the currency. From the standpoint of a national economy, a deficit in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if the deficit is greater than market expectations then it will trigger a negative price movement.
Test Your Skills
To access free charts click on the following link: http://www.dailyfx.com/
Look at the 5-minute, 15-minute, and one-hour charts and find support and resistance lines for the EUR/USD. You will notice that once a major support or resistance line is broken, markets tend to trend strongly in that direction.
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