Trading foreign exchange, stocks, options, or futures on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade, you should carefully consider your objectives, financial situation, needs and level of experience. The Exotics Club provides general advice that does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. The content of this website must not be construed as personal advice. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss in excess of your deposited funds and therefore, you should not speculate with capital that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading on margin.You should seek advice from an independent financial advisor. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future success. rob booker wealth
Just like stocks, you can trade currency based on what you think its value is (or where it's headed). But the big difference with forex is that you can trade up or down just as easily. If you think a currency will increase in value, you can buy it. If you think it will decrease, you can sell it. With a market this large, finding a buyer when you're selling and a seller when you're buying is much easier than in in other markets. Maybe you hear on the news that China is devaluing its currency to draw more foreign business into its country. If you think that trend will continue, you could make a forex trade by selling the Chinese currency against another currency, say, the US dollar. The more the Chinese currency devalues against the US dollar, the higher your profits. If the Chinese currency increases in value while you have your sell position open, then your losses increase and you want to get out of the trade.
Any forex transaction that settles for a date later than spot is considered a "forward." The price is calculated by adjusting the spot rate to account for the difference in interest rates between the two currencies. The amount of adjustment is called "forward points." The forward points reflect only the interest rate differential between two markets. They are not a forecast of how the spot market will trade at a date in the future.