Key To The Popularity Of Foreign Exchange Trading Is "Margin"
One of the chief benefits of foreign exchange trading is having "margin" on your side. This is what makes it so exciting as well as profitable. The ordinary investor would not have access to trading in forex if it we not for margin, but what exactly is this?
Foreign exchange traders are able to control large lots of currency by means of margin. They are able to do this while investing relatively small amounts of money. The trader will open an account with a forex broker in order to gain access to leverage. In this way they can control lots of up to $100 000 in foreign currency, this is the generally accepted size of these lots.
The leverage the trader gains from the margin account is expressed as a ratio. For instance a leverage ratio of 100:1 means the trader is able to have access to control over 100 x their deposit amount of forex assets. So essentially in a $100 000 standard forex lot with a 1% margin will require a deposit of $1000.
It has to be borne in mind however that trading on margin can increase losses as well as profits. The potential is there, and is very real for any trader, to lose as much as if not more than their original deposit. It is possible to put safeguards in place to prevent this from happening. In order to limit any losses a broker generally terminates a transaction which goes beyond the deposit in the margin. However losses do occur when even a small change in a currency occurs, as do profits.
Cash is traded in far larger units than foreign exchange. A good example of this is the USD, this currency trades down to 4 decimal places. In other words, what might be $1.35 in normal currency; in forex would be $1.3576. The smallest currency exchange unit is the pip. In a $100 000 lot the pip equals $10. and while $10 might have some meaning to a tourist from the US going on holiday, it has little meaning to an investor. So if the currency of exchange increases say to $1.457, it would either mean a loss or profit of $10. - 23310
Foreign exchange traders are able to control large lots of currency by means of margin. They are able to do this while investing relatively small amounts of money. The trader will open an account with a forex broker in order to gain access to leverage. In this way they can control lots of up to $100 000 in foreign currency, this is the generally accepted size of these lots.
The leverage the trader gains from the margin account is expressed as a ratio. For instance a leverage ratio of 100:1 means the trader is able to have access to control over 100 x their deposit amount of forex assets. So essentially in a $100 000 standard forex lot with a 1% margin will require a deposit of $1000.
It has to be borne in mind however that trading on margin can increase losses as well as profits. The potential is there, and is very real for any trader, to lose as much as if not more than their original deposit. It is possible to put safeguards in place to prevent this from happening. In order to limit any losses a broker generally terminates a transaction which goes beyond the deposit in the margin. However losses do occur when even a small change in a currency occurs, as do profits.
Cash is traded in far larger units than foreign exchange. A good example of this is the USD, this currency trades down to 4 decimal places. In other words, what might be $1.35 in normal currency; in forex would be $1.3576. The smallest currency exchange unit is the pip. In a $100 000 lot the pip equals $10. and while $10 might have some meaning to a tourist from the US going on holiday, it has little meaning to an investor. So if the currency of exchange increases say to $1.457, it would either mean a loss or profit of $10. - 23310
About the Author:
Looking to find the best deal on foreign exchange trading, then visit www.MoneyMakingFxTrader.com to find the best advice on automated forex trading for you.
posted by Mr. Forex at
7:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home