THE VALUE OF THE CURRENCIES

The base currency is ALWAYS equal to one of the currency's monetary unit of exchange (i.e., 1 Euro, 1 Pound, and 1 Dollar). When an investor buys 100,000 EUR/USD, he is said to be buying (or receiving) the EURO or the Base Currency and selling (or paying for) the USD or Counter Currency. The amount of the Base Currency he is buying is equal to 100,000 Euros. IMPORTANT: that this is true no matter the current exchange rate at the time. The base currency amount remains constant.

The Counter Currency equivalent amount that the investor is selling (or paying), on the other hand, will fluctuate with the exchange rate for the Currency Pair.

It is =(AMOUNT OF BASE CURRENCY * MARKET FOREIGN EXCHANGE)

Since the Counter Currency is the part of the currency pair that fluctuates higher or lower, it determines the strength or weakness of both currencies in a currency pair. As one currency goes up, the other must go down.

Currencies trade in fractions of a full unit. The smallest fraction is called a "pip". Currencies trade in pips because exchanges of currencies for speculative reasons are generally for large amounts. This is because of the leverage that is available when trading Foreign Exchange.

FXDD provides a Maximum Trading Leverage Ratio of 100:1for standard accounts. At that ratio, a 100,000 EUR position would require $1,200 of Margin at an exchange rate of 1.2000. This is calculated by taking the US$ equivalent of 100,000 EUR or US$120,000 and dividing by the 100:1 leverage ratio.

MARGIN REQUIRED = 120,000 / 100 = $1,200

To determine the value of a pip for the deal above the following calculation would be made:

VALUE IN US$ = 1.20 * PAR AMOUNT OF BASE CURRENCY = $120,000

VALUE IN US$ + a PIP = (1.20+0.0001)* PAR AMOUNT OF BASE CURRENCY = $120,000

The value of a PIP in dollars = $120,000 - $119,990 (or) $10.

When a currency pair goes from a low price to a higher price, the Base Currency is said to have strengthened or gotten stronger. The converse is true for the Counter Currency. That is, it has weakened or gotten weaker as the Base Currency has gotten stronger.

Since Exchange Rates represent what a fixed amount of currency is equal to in terms of another currency, we have seen there is just one price for the Currency Pair. The movement of that price determines whether a currency is getting stronger or weaker.

If the EUR/USD exchange rate goes from 1.2000 to 1.2024, we have concluded that the EUR got stronger, the USD weaker.

Because When looking at Foreign Exchange Rates (or prices) an action to Buy the Currency Pair implies buying the Base Currency, or EUR, and selling the Counter Currency, or USD. If the EUR/USD exchange rate moves higher, as expected, the trader can now sell the EUR/USD at a dearer/higher price. The difference represents a Profit to the trader that was Long, or who bought the EUR/USD Currency Pair.

Another way of looking at it is at 1.2000, an investor/trader could exchange 1 EUR for $1.20. At 1.2100, however, that same single EUR can now be exchanged for a higher amount of USD, in this case $1.21 USD. The EUR has strengthened or gotten stronger.

FOREIGN CURRENCY SYMBOLS

Currencies, like equities, have their own symbols that distinguish one from another. Since currencies are quoted in terms of the value of one against the value of another, a currency pair includes the "name" for both currencies, separated by a "/". The "name" is a three letter acronym. The first two letters are in most cases reserved for identification of the country. The last letter is the first letter of the unit of currency for that country.

For example,

USD = United States Dollar

GBP = Great Britain Pound

JPY = Japanese Yen

CAD = Canadian Dollar

CHF = Confederatio Helvetica (Latin for Swiss Confederation) Franc

NZD = New Zealand Dollar

AUD = Australian Dollar

NOK = Norwegian Krona

SEK = Swedish Krona

Since the European Euro has no specific country attached to it, it goes simply by the acronym EUR.

By combining one currency, EUR, with another USD, you create a currency pair EUR/USD.

Learn More About Forex

INTRODUCTION TO THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET:

Although the foreign exchange market is the largest traded market in the world, its reach to the retail sector pales in comparison to the Equity and Fixed Income markets. This is in large part due to a general lack of awareness of FX in the investor community, along with a lack of understanding of how and why currencies move. Adding to the mystique of this market is the lack of a physical central exchange akin to the nyse or the cme. It is this very lack of structure that enables the FX markets to operate on a 24-hour basis, beginning the trading day in New Zealand and continuing through the time zones.

Traditionally, access to the FX market was limited to the bank community that traded large blocks of currencies for commercial, hedging, or speculative purposes. Some Companies has opened the door of Forex trading to such institutions as funds and money managers, as well as to the individual retail trader. This sector of the market has grown exponentially over the past several years.All Forex sites have a demo account to get training for forex.

WHAT IS FOREIGN EXCHANGE?

For active traders and investors, foreign exchange should be no different than other investment products such as equities, commodities or fixed-income. Because of globalization in the economic world and consolidation of whole economic regions (i.e., the European Union), including currencies in a portfolio helps to diversify assets and can reduce risk.

Just like other investment alternatives, foreign exchange offers traders/investors a market where they can buy or sell an investment product. In this case it is a specific Currency Pair. The currency pair may be the Euro versus the US Dollar, the US Dollar versus the Japanese Yen, the British Pound versus the US Dollar, the Euro versus British Pound, or a number of other currency combinations.

The different currency combinations represent nothing more than the value of one currency versus the value of another. That relationship is represented by a single price. In foreign exchange, the price of a currency pair is the market’s expectations (at that time) of the value of that currency measured against another currency given the current and expected economic and political situation in the two economies. In equity terms, it is the price of the stock.

If, for example, an economy’s inflation/interest rates are low and stable, if its output is growing strongly, or if its politics are stable and expectations are for more of the same, then one can expect (in general) for that country's currency to remain strong versus a less fundamentally favorable currency.

Contrasting that with an equity, if the domestic and global economy is strong, if inflation is not rampant, if competition is not taking away market share or eating into margins, if product demand and growth are strong, of if the companies internal "politics" are such that the workers are happy and productive, and expectations are for more of the same, then you can expect that company’s stock to remain strong versus a company with less favorable fundamentals.

Similar to equities there are other factors that determine the short term value of a product including technical analysis, short term supply and demand, seasonal capital flow patterns, the current price of the instrument, etc. It is these universal dynamics that will move a currency’s value up or down.

International Trade

International trade is the exchange of goods and services across national borders. In most countries, it represents a significant part of GDP. While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance have increased in recent centuries, mainly because of Industrialisation, advanced transportation, globalisation, multinational corporations, and outsourcing. In fact, it is probably the increasing prevalence of international trade that is usually meant by the term "globalisation".

Empirical evidence for the success of trade can be seen in the contrast between countries such as South Korea, which adopted a policy of export-oriented industrialisation, and India, which historically had a more closed policy (although it has begun to open its economy, as of 2005). South Korea has done much better by economic criteria than India over the past fifty years, though its success also has to do with effective state institutions.

Trade sanctions against a specific country are sometimes imposed, in order to punish that country for some action. An embargo, a severe form of externally imposed isolation, is a blockade of all trade by one country on another. For example, the United States has had an embargo against Cuba for over 40 years.

Although there are usually few trade restrictions within countries, international trade is usually regulated by governmental quotas and restrictions, and often taxed by tariffs. Tariffs are usually on imports, but sometimes countries may impose export tariffs or subsidies. All of these are called trade barriers. If a government removes all trade barriers, a condition of free trade exists. A government that implements a protectionist policy establishes trade barriers.

The fair trade movement, also known as the trade justice movement, promotes the use of labour, environmental and social standards for the production of commodities, particularly those exported from the Third and Second Worlds to the First World.

Standards may be voluntarily adhered to by importing firms, or enforced by governments through a combination of employment and commercial law. Proposed and practiced fair trade policies vary widely, ranging from the commonly adhered to prohibition of goods made using slave labour to minimum price support schemes such as those for coffee in the 1980s. Non-governmental organizations also play a role in promoting fair trade standards by serving as independent monitors of compliance with fairtrade labelling requirements.

Currency Trading Basics - The Basic Details That Make the Difference in Currency Trading

As the popularity of the Forex continues to grow, more and more investors are beginning to look to trading currencies as a solution to quitting the rat race. If currency trading has interested you but you don't yet understand how it works then here's your primer.
Forex Trading
Unlike other futures trading, the Forex doesn't trade grain or cattle it trades money, or more specifically the exchange rates of money. These are called currency pairs, which is the exchange rate of one nation's currency compared to another.
The top traded currencies are:
AUD/USD - The Australian Dollar against the US dollar, called the Aussie
EUR/USD - The Euro against the US Dollar called the Euro
USD/CAD - The US Dollar against the Canadian Dollar called simply the Canadian Dollar
USD/JPY - The US Dollar against the Japanese Yen called the Yen
The first currency listed in the pairs is called the "base" currency while the second is called the "counter" or "quote." These "pairs" make up about 75% of all volume traded in the Forex markets and they are traded by choosing which currency in the pair you think will rise or fall against the other. So if a trader thinks the Euro is going to rise against the US dollar, he would go long (buy) the EUR and go short (sell) the USD. Similarly if you think the USD will rise against the AUD, you would short the AUD and got long on the USD in the AUD/USD pair.
Numbers
When the pairs are quoted they are commonly quoted as the bid ask spread between the base and the counter currency. The difference is expressed in one number, which is the amount it takes to buy a single base currency. For instance if the bid ask for EUR/USD is listed as 1.2545 then it would take 1.2545 USD to buy a single EUR at the current exchange rate. So though two currencies are being traded only one number is quoted and it is how many of the last currency it takes to buy the first.
The Pip
You will undoubtedly hear the word pip when discussing currency trading. As in any occupation a cool insider language is a must, and in currency trading the Pip is the insider term for a single "Price Interest Point." This is how moves in the market are defined. So a move in the Aussie (AUD/USD) from 1.2560 to 1.2575 would be a jump of 15 pips. The pips are what you are looking to gain. More pips equal more profit.
Next, go beyond currency trading basics and discover how today's technology has made it possible for trading robots to trade the markets for you. After all even the best trading advice can be ruined by your emotions. Consider using a trading robot that not only knows trade signals, but also trades 24/7 without any emotion.