Archive for the ‘Forex basics’ Category

Who should trade a Mini Forex trading account?

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

A mini forex trading account is designed for those who are new to forex trading or when the trading account balance is less then $10.000.

Mini forex account key points

- Only $250-$300 to open
- Up to 200:1 trade leverage
- 1 pip = $1 for EUR/USD and GBP/USD
- Smaller trade size

Mini forex account advantages

Build up confidence starting small

A trader can trade a mini forex account using 1 mini lot and building up lot size slowly when he makes profits in his account. A general rule is to trade ONLY 1 mini lot for every $1000 a trader has in account. For example, if an account is worth $5000, trader can take up to 5 mini lots.

Develop a forex trading strategy

Because on a mini forex account, pip value is $1 = 1 pip, trader can pay more attention on building a solid trading strategy without focusing on floating profit & Loss (P/L). Most traders with a small account balance trading on a standard account will tend to base trading decisions on profit &Loss and not on their trading strategy, they are emotionally too involved.

Their account balance fluctuations are so important that they even can’t think developing a proper trading strategy. Their account size is too small for the lot size they take and every small pip loss can lead to a painful loss in their trading account.

Such traders will tend to take profits (too) soon and cut losses too late because they always hope the trade will make a reverse and come back.

Consider the following example:

A trader has a $2000 trading Account.

When trading a forex standard account, a 37 pip loss will result in a $370 loss in his trading account or 18.5% of his account balance. When taking the same trade on a forex mini account, a 37 pip loss will result in a $37 loss in his trading account or 1.85 % of his account balance.

Conclusion

By starting with a Mini account- a trader loses only a small amount on every losing transaction making it easier to stick to a disciplined trading strategy, in the long rum, this will lead to much better trading results.

Toby Smitz

What is Fibonacci Forex Trading?

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Fibonacci forex trading is the basis of many forex trading systems used by a great number of professional forex brokers around the globe, and many billions of dollars are profitable traded every year based on these trading techniques.

Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician and he is best remembered by his world famous Fibonacci sequence, the definition of this sequence is that it’s formed by a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers; 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 …But in the case of currency trading what is more important for the forex trader is the Fibonacci ratios derived from this sequence of numbers, i.e. .236, .50, .382, .618, etc.

These ratios are mathematical proportions prevalent in many places and structures in nature, as well as in many man made creations.

Forex trading can greatly benefit form this mathematical proportions due to the fact that the oscillations observed in forex charts, where prices are visibly changing in an oscillatory pattern, follow Fibonacci ratios very closely as indicators of resistance and support levels; maybe not to the last cent, but so close as to be really amazing.

Fibonacci price points, or levels, for any forex currency pair can be calculated in advance so that the trader will know when to enter or exit the market if the prediction given by the Fibonacci forex day trading system he uses fulfills its predictions.

Many people tries to make this analysis overly complicated scaring away many new forex traders that are just beginning to understand how the forex market works and how to make a profit in it. But this is not how it has to be. I can’t say it’s a simple concept but it is quite understandable for any trader once he or she has grasped the basics and has had some practice trading using Fibonacci levels along with other secondary indicators that will help to improve the accuracy of the entry and exit point for every particular trade.

Free chapters of a forex day trading system can be downloaded at http://www.1-forex.com in case you are interested in learning more about Fibonacci forex trading.

Adrian Pablo; Forex trader and freelance writer.

A guide to forex

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Forex  or the foreign exchange of currencies, as facilitated by forex brokers and banks, has become an integral part of business operations in this new age of globalization. Although the U.S. dollar is still the preferred tender in the world market, U.S. companies, or dollar-earning enterprises, may have to trade their dollars for other currencies to facilitate faster business transactions in foreign countries.

Most big international conglomerates that operate corporations and plants all over the world invest in keeping different currencies. Several companies also earn from the fluctuations in the money market by stocking up on currencies such as the euro, the yen, and the pound then selling them when their value strengthens against the U.S. dollar.

Because of the great impact of the supply of dollar reserves on any government, forex trading is heavily regulated. Individuals and companies may only buy or sell, or bring in or take out of the country certain legal amounts of currency. This poses a problem, especially for companies that need to put up a lot of cash in dollars to buy large assets. This is where forex brokers come in and assist them in raising the needed funds.

Dabbling in forex is a bit like dealing with equities. The market is volatile and often requires taking action based on forecasts that, when right, can lead to huge profits. However, when these forecasts are wrong, they can cause big losses. The risks are enough to deter many, but the same uncertainties and the surprises, as well as the strategic aspect of the activity also attracts many to invest in buying and selling foreign currencies. The only difference is that forex brokers do not charge commissions, unlike equities brokers. Forex brokers get their earnings from the spreads or the difference between the purchase price of a currency and the selling price after fluctuation.