Forex Trading

Forex Currency Pairs

The foreign exchange or the forex market is accepted as the most active and liquid financial markets in the world. Global daily forex turnover is estimated to be over $1.7 trillion.
The spot forex market is an over-the-counter market and is different from exchange-traded products because it has no physical location or central exchange. Foreign exchange trading takes place in the world major financial trading centers with the main centers being London, New York and Tokyo.
Trading hours are rarely restricted and prices are typically available in the major currency pairs almost without interruption during the working week. This liquidity and frequent volatility makes the trading of currencies an attractive investment opportunity for the experienced market participant.
Forex trading has many investment benefits some of which are:

Liquidity - With over one trillion US dollars traded daily in the Forex market and with millions of participants and transactions daily, there is always the opportunity to enter and exit the market at transparent pricing.
24 hr trading - The market operates around the clock, from the Sydney market on Monday morning to the close of the US market on Friday creating a 24 hour market. One of the biggest advantages of trading forex is the opportunity to trade 24 hours a day. This enables traders to react and take advantage of market movements at all times.
Increase in leverage -Leveraged trading, also referred to as margin trading, allow investors in the Forex market to execute trades up to $100,000 with an initial margin of only $1,000.
Predictable market - The Forex market follows frequently repeated trends. Currency markets exhibit certain regularities, creating price trends for market participants to follow. These price trends increase the chances of trading profitably.
Lower transaction costs

Forex market is much more cost efficient to invest in terms of both commissions and transaction fees. In general, the width of the spread in a FX transaction is less than 1/10 as wide as a stock transaction.

Profit from all market movements - With forex, the market is continuously moving, so there are always trading opportunities, whether a currency is strengthening or weakening in relation to another currency. Thus, a trader has the ability to profit on both short and long trading strategies.

Major Currencies

Product	Symbol	Contract Size	Spread	Stop-Limit Orders	Minimum Fluctuation	Margin	Trading Hours (GMT)
Euro vs. US Dollar	EURUSD	100,000 USD	2 PIPS	5 PIPS	1 PIP = $10	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
British Pound vs. US Dollar	GBPUSD	100,000 USD	3 PIPS	5 PIPS	1 PIP = $10	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
US Dollar vs. Japanese Yen	USDJPY	100,000 USD	2 PIPS	5 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
US Dollar vs. Swiss Franc	USDCHF	100,000 USD	3 PIPS	5 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Australian Dollar vs. US Dollar	AUDUSD	100,000 USD	3 PIPS	5 PIPS	1 PIP = $10	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
US Dollar vs. Canadian dollar	USDCAD	100,000 USD	2 PIPS	5 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
New Zealand Dollar vs. US Dollar	NZDUSD	100,000 USD	3 PIP	5 PIPS	1 PIP = $10	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00

Cross Currencies

Product	Symbol	Contract Size	Spread	Stop-Limit Orders	Minimum Fluctuation	Margin	Trading Hours (GMT)
Euro vs Japanese Yen	EURJPY	100,000 EUR	3 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Euro vs British Pound	EURGBP	100,000 EUR	3 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Euro vs Swiss Franc	EURCHF	100,000 EUR	3 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
British Pound vs Japanese Yen	GBPJPY	100,000 GBP	7 Pips	15 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Euro vs Australian Dollar	EURAUD	100,000 EUR	15 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Euro vs Canadian Dollar	EURCAD	100,000 EUR	15 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
British Pound vs Australian Dollar	GBPAUD	100,000 GBP	15 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
British Pound vs Swiss Franc	GBPCHF	100,000 GBP	7 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
British Pound vs Canadian Dollar	GBPCAD	100,000 GBP	15 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Swiss Franc vs Japanese Yen	CHFJPY	100,000 CHF	4 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Australian Dollar vs Canadian dollar	AUDCAD	100,000 AUD	8 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
New Zealand Dollar vs Japanese Yen	NZDJPY	100,000 NZD	6 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Australian Dollar vs Japanese Yen	AUDJPY	100,000 AUD	5 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Australian Dollar vs New Zealand Dollar	AUDNZD	100,000 AUD	20 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Canadian Dollar vs Japanese Yen	CADJPY	100,000 CAD	5 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Australian Dollar vs Swiss Franc	AUDCHF	100,000 AUD	8 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
Canadian Dollar vs Swiss Franc	CADCHF	100,000 CAD	8 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00
New Zealand Dollar vs Swiss Franc	NZDCHF	100,000 NZD	8 Pips	10 PIPS	Variable	1000 USD	Open: sun 21:00 Close: Fri 21:00

Examples
- Example 1: Buying EUR / USD Contract
A client believes that the EUR is due to rise in the future against US dollar, to get benefit of the situation the client intends to buy EURUSD. EURUSD is quoted at 1.3740 - 1.3743, the client buys 2 lots at 1.3743, the client requires minimum deposit of 1000 $ for each lot.
EURUSD prices rise to 1.3810 - 1.3813, the client is satisfied with his profit and wants to close his positions, he therefore sells 2 lots of EURUSD at 1.3810, so the client has made profit of 67 points (1.3810 - 1.3743 = 0.0067) . To calculate the profit we will do the following:
*Commission charges are NOT included in the above calculations
- Example 2: Buying USD/JPY Contract
A client believes that the JPY will weaken in the future against US dollar, to get benefit of the situation the client intends to buy USDJPY. (Buying USD & selling JPY)

USDJPY is quoted at 112.50- 112.53, the client buys 4 lots at 112.53, the client requires minimum deposit of 1000 $ for each lot.

USDJPY prices rise to 112.95- 112.98, the client is satisfied with his profit and wants to close his positions, he therefore sells 4 lots of USDJPY at 112.95, so the client has made profit of 42 points (112.95 - 112.53 = 0.42)

. To calculate the profit we will do the following:
*Commission charges are NOT included in the above calculations

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Forex Currency Pairs

Major Currencies

Cross Currencies

Examples