IntroToForexGuide MT
IntroToForexGuide MT
IN FOREX
GLOBAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Why Forex?
10
11
Technical Analysis
14
Fundamental Analysis
19
20
21
Quiz Yourself
22
25
HIGH RISK WARNING: Foreign exchange trading carries a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all investors. Leverage creates additional
risk and loss exposure. Before you decide to trade foreign exchange, carefully consider your investment objectives, experience level, and risk
tolerance. You could lose some or all of your initial investment; do not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Educate yourself on the risks
associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial or tax advisor if you have any questions.
FOREWORD
Retail foreign exchange, or Forex, trading exploded in popularity thanks to
advancements in technology and new market capabilities. People can now
place trades with the click of a button, and participate in a large global
market with a small amount of capital. Before modern advancements
made the market the way it is today, traders would have to call brokers and
banks directly, verbally placing large trades over the phone. Nevertheless,
while the act of trading Forex has become simpler, the task of placing
profitable trades remains as challenging as ever.
This introduction to Forex is designed to provide you with the basic
educational foundation needed to participate in the modern world of
online foreign exchange trading. This guide is not intended to teach
you how to tradewe offer webinars and other education to help in
your development.
FOREWORD
WHY FOREX?
The Forex market is where traders from around the world can trade the currencies of global countries
(or in a union of countries, as in Europe). The Forex market is the largest financial market in the
world, with an estimated $4 trillion transacted daily. Thats 160 times the volume of the New York
Stock Exchange. (Source: Bank of International Settlements Triennial FX Report, 2007)
To get a sense of just how large this market is, consider that the amount traded in four days could pay
off the entire United States debt.
Not only does Forex offer the benefit of being the largest market in the world, through trading
currencies, it is naturally also the most liquid market available.
Forex is a seamless, decentralized 24-hour market that follows global banking activity from one
international market to another. Unlike in other markets, Forex traders can trade 24 hours a day,
from Sunday through Friday.
LONDON
NEW YORK CITY
TOKYO
HONG KONG
SINGAPORE
SYDNEY
EST
WHY FOREX?
GMT
LEVERAGE
Currency trading can be significantly
and flexibly leveraged. Outside of
the United States, the leverage is up
to 200:1, meaning that traders can
put up $1 but control up to $200 in
a margined trade. While this would
magnify your profits, leverage can
also magnify losses.
PRACTICE ACCOUNTS
Forex is an easy choice for those seeking to enter a trading market. Trading can begin on a free
practice account, and then progress to live accounts with a low deposit minimum.
Want a practice account? Register for a free practice account on www.fxdd.com/mt. The sign up
process is quick and simple.
WHY FOREX?
BUY
If you buy a currency pair expecting it to
increase in value, you are GOING LONG.
SELL
If you sell a currency pair expecting it to
decrease in value, you are SHORTING.
CURRENCY PAIRS
THE VALUE OF EACH INDIVIDUAL CURRENCY IS RELATIVE TO OTHER
CURRENCIES. THE EURO, FOR EXAMPLE, ONLY HAS VALUE IF COMPARED
AGAINST THE VALUE OF ANOTHER CURRENCY, LIKE THE US DOLLAR. THAT IS
WHY CURRENCIES ARE TRADED IN PAIRS AND NOT AS SINGLE CURRENCIES.
Currency pairs are just that, individual currencies
that are paired up. Examples include: EUR/USD,
which is the euro against the US dollar,
USD/JPY, which is the US dollar against the
Japanese yen, and GBP/CHF, which is the
British pound against the Swiss franc.
The first currency in the pair is called the base
currency; the second currency in the pair is
called the quote, or counter currency.
If we say that the current price of EUR/USD is
quoted at an exchange rate of 1.2000, this would
mean that 1.2000 of the quote currency (USD) is
equal to 1 of the base currency (EUR).
BASE
QUOTE
Buying a currency pair is the same as buying the base currency while simultaneously shorting the
quote currency. By the same token, selling short a currency pair is the same as selling short the base
currency while simultaneously buying the quote currency.
If a trader thinks that the base currency will go up in relative value while the quote currency will go
down in relative value, that trader should buy the currency pair. If instead a trader thinks that the base
currency will go down in relative value while the quote currency will go up in relative value, that trader
should sell short the currency pair.
BUY
SELL
CURRENCY PAIRS
Forex trading offers a limited number of trading instruments (namely, currencies) to help focus trading
efforts on a few key currency pairs. In addition to the major currency pairs, Forex also offers trading
on the commodity pairs, i.e., Australian dollar (AUD)/USD and USD/CAD (Canadian dollar), and the
major crosses, i.e., EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY.
COMMODITY PAIRS
These pairs are highly correlated to certain commodity prices. Generally speaking, the AUD/USD and
USD/NZD correlate with gold prices, and USD/CAD correlates with oil.
CROSSES
These pairs do not contain the U.S. dollar.
COMMODITY PAIRS:
AUD/USD USD/CAD
USD/NZD
USD
84.9%
GBP
13%
EUR
39 %
MAJOR CROSSES:
EUR/GBP GBP/JPY
EUR/JPY
JPY
19%
*The total sum is calculated on a 200% basis because each currency trade always involves a currency pair.
EUR/USD
39%
USD/JPY
14%
GBP/USD
9%
Source: Bank for International Settlements Final Summary Tables, Currency Distribution of Global
Foreign Exchange Market Turnover, April 2010.
PIPS
PIPS ARE THE PRIMARY UNITS OF MOVEMENT FOR ALL CURRENCY
PAIR EXCHANGE RATES.
For example, if EUR/USD moves up from 1.2000 to 1.2001, that is a bullish movement of 1 pip,
which in this case is an exchange rate movement of 1/100th of one U.S. cent. Major currency pairs
can routinely move hundreds of pips per day.
1.20014
LOTS
LOTS ARE A MEASUREMENT OF THE NUMBER OF UNITS OF A CURRENCY
PAIR THAT ARE BEING TRADED. USING LOTS SIMPLIFIES TRADING IN
THE FOREX MARKET, AS IT PROVIDES A STANDARDIZED TRADE SIZE.
A standard lot is worth 100,000 units of the nominal value of the base currency. A mini-lot is worth
10,000 units, and a micro-lot is worth 1,000 units.
000
100,
0
10,0
0
1,00
STANDARD
MINI
MICRO
For example, on the EUR/USD, each pip movement on a standard lot trade is the equivalent of a
$10.00 movement. Each pip movement on a mini-lot trade is the equivalent of a $1.00 movement.
Each pip movement on a micro-lot trade is the equivalent of a $0.10 movement.
OPEN POSITION
CLOSE POSITION
123,500 USD
125,120 USD
Upon opening his position, Mikes account was debited USD in order to purchase euros. When
closing his trade, Mike received a credit for buying back the same amount of units of currency. The
Trade Profit is the difference between the two:
123,500 USD
OVERALL PROFIT =
125,120 USD
1,620 USD
GETTING STARTED IN FOREX
10
$1.57
$1.40
$1.35
$1.25
$1.10
$0.95
$0.88
NOTIONAL POSITIONS
Since foreign exchange traders are not
executing for delivery in retail foreign
exchange trading (i.e., actual cash
flows are not physically exchanged),
the positions taken are said to be in
notional amounts. A notional amount is
the nominal or face amount that is used
to calculate payments received or paid.
The actual cash amounts do not change
hands and therefore are referred to
as notional.
11
12
Figure 2
BUY
100,000 USD
at 79.50 USD/JPY
SELL
7,950,000 JPY
at 80.00 USD/JPY
8,000,000 JPY
PAID ON BUY
JPY 8,000,000
100,000 USD
RECEIVED ON SALE
JPY 7,950,000
JPY 50,000
PROFIT
Since Marys FXDD account is in USD, JPY profit needs to be converted into USD at the current
USD/JPY exchange rate, which in this example is 80.00, implying that USD 1 = JPY 80. Therefore,
her profit from JPY 50,000 would equal:
JPY PROFIT
JPY
JPY/USD
USD 625.00
The return on investment (margin) gives a trader an idea of how much they made or lost on a trade
in terms of the investment or margin applied. In our example, we know Mary pledged USD 2,000 of
margin to her USD/JPY trade and made a profit of USD 625.00. To calculate her return on investment
(margin), divide the profit by the margin:
MARGIN
PROFIT
/ MARGIN
USD 625.00
USD 2,000
= 31.25%
13
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Because the Forex market moves so quickly and aggressively, currency pairs are said to be highly
trending, with a pairs value often following a pattern of growth or decline. With so many trades going
on every day, we are able to utilize common analytical tools to detect patterns and make predictions.
TREND LINES
DOWN TREND
UP TREND
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
14
BREAKOUT
RESISTANCE
RESISTANCE
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
CHART PATTERNS
CHART PATTERNS TRACK PRICE ACTION ACROSS TIME. THESE
PATTERNS CAN PROVIDE KEY CLUES AS TO FUTURE POTENTIAL
PRICE MOVEMENT.
TRIANGLE PATTERNS
SYMMETRICAL
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
ASCENDING
DESCENDING
15
MOVING AVERAGES
MOVING AVERAGES ARE RUNNING AVERAGES OF PAST PRICE ACTION
OVER A PRE-DETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME.
These indicators smooth out often choppy price action and can provide useful indications as to
price trends and trend changes.
MOVING AVERAGES
ASK
BID
25%
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
16
RSI (OVERBOUGHT/SOLD)
FIBONACCI
THE FIBONACCI SEQUENCE IS A MATHEMATICAL CONSTRUCT BASED
ON HISTORICAL MATHEMATICAL OBSERVATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN
ADAPTED TO FINANCIAL MARKET TRADING.
Fibonacci trading is based on the Golden Mean and provides trading ratios that can be used in
determining potential target price levels and possible price turning points.
FIBONACCI
100.0%
61.8%
50.0%
38.2%
ASK
23.6%
SELL
0.0%
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
17
CANDLESTICK PATTERNS
CANDLESTICK PATTERNS ARE ANALYSES BASED ON THE SIZE AND
ALIGNMENT OF PRICE BARS, OR CANDLESTICKS.
These patterns can be effective in highlighting the conflict between bullish buyers and bearish
sellers, and therefore can provide clues as to potential impending price movement.
CANDLESTICK PATTERN
SHORTING HARA MI
SPINNING TOPS
SHOOTING STAR
DARK CLOUD COVER
CLOSE
CLOSE
OPEN
OPEN
LOW
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
2
CLOSE
OPEN
2
18
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS INVOLVES THE ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCES
THAT MAY CAUSE A CURRENCY PAIR TO MOVE HIGHER OR LOWER.
Fundamental analysis involves the analysis of the influences that may cause a currency pair to
move higher or lower.
Generally speaking, a currency pair will move higher if the economic influences of the base
currency are more positive on a relative basis than the economic influences of the quote or term
currency (and vice versa).
If, for example, the EU economy is weaker than the US economy, the EUR/USD should go down.
If the Australian economy is stronger than the US economy, the AUD/USD should go up.
FUNDAMENTAL INFLUENCES
There are many economic factors that can cause an economic bias, which then affects the value of
currency pairs, all of which are interdependent due to our increasingly global economy.
GDP
INTEREST RATES
INFLATION
EMPLOYMENT
RETAIL SALES
TRADE BALANCE/CURRENT ACCOUNT
Pure fundamental traders tend to focus on the longer-term trends of economies. Those judgments
are typically derived by analyzing the trends of economic data. If the trends suggest economic
growth of a nation, this will positively affect its currency. If the trends suggest economic decline,
this would negatively affect its currency.
Economic data for each country is released on a scheduled basis. FXDD has a calendar available
on its website at www.fxdd.com/mt.
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
19
As a part of this plan, traders should also keep a detailed journal of all trades (with reasons for
entries/exits) so that there is an ongoing assessment of exactly how well the trading plan was followed.
20
2009
FXDD receives NFA approval.
FXDD opens its 100,000th live account.
2010
FXDD wins 6 FX Trader Choice Awards,
including Best Overall FX Broker.
Malta Ltd is granted licensing by MFSA
and starts operating in EU.
2007
2002
FXDD is founded in New York City.
1996
Retail Forex trading begins in earnest.
1944
The Bretton Woods Agreement is
reached, fixing the exchange rate of
44 nations to the US dollar.
ANCIENT TIMES
1999
The euro becomes the official
currency of the Eurozone. It becomes
the second most important reserve
currency after the US dollar.
1971
The Bretton Woods Agreement ends,
allowing currencies to float freely.
The US dollar becomes the primary
reserve used by many countries.
MIDDLE AGES
Paper bills are exchanged in addition
to metallic coins.
21
1:1
50:1
100:1
200:1
QUIZ YOURSELF
EUR/USD
GBP/USD
USD/JPY
EUR/GBP
22
AUD
USD
CAD
CHF
Jump
Point
Pip
Slip
QUIZ YOURSELF
10 cents
10 dollars
1 dollar
100 dollars
23
Fundamental
Chart
Technical
Graphical
HIGH RISK WARNING: Foreign exchange trading carries a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all investors.
QUIZ YOURSELF
24
ASK FXDD
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CONTACT INFORMATION
IF YOUD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ON FXDD AND TRADING FOREX,
WED LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
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CALL US:
+356.2013.3496
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