Retail traders are most usually unfamiliar with the mechanisms of the foreign exchange market or Forex. Until very recently this market used to be the domain of mega financial institutions and multinational corporations but now it is exposed to everyone thanks to the Internet. But times change and individual investors are eager to try their luck at currency trading Forex transactions. Consider the following elements that define the market before starting to work on it.
There is no regulated exchange for currency. There is no arbitration panel for disputes and no central body to control the market activity. If you are used to structured exchanges, you must forget everything you know; here, you have compete and cooperate with your competitors at the same time. Currency trading Forex environment in fact represents the most fluid and liquid market of the world.
Many businesses do not get involved in currency trading Forex transactions directly, but they hire dealers or agents to intermediate. The broker gets a commission from what the investors buys or sells. You won't get charged any commissions. Dealers assume a market risk together with the companies or individuals that they represent. Since there are no fees and commissions charged, profit comes with every extra cent.
Currency trading Forex is purely speculative in nature. Nothing sells, nothing gets bought, because the currencies are not exchanged physically, but they merely work as computer entries. Only 20% of the activity on Forex are run for payroll, the payment of goods and services or exchange. The rest are just speculations.
There are seven major currency pairs traded: euro/dollar, dollar/Japanese yen, British pound/dollar, dollar/Swiss franc, Australian dollar/dollar, dollar/Canadian dollar and New Zealand dollar/dollar. Some retail dealers also work with exotic currencies but such cases are pretty rare. The largest part of the currency trading Forex speculations revolve around the seven main currency pairs. From this perspective, Forex is more concentrated as compared to the regular stock markets.
For further info on currency trading Forex strategies that work, there are plenty of articles, manuals and guides to consult. People can even take comprehensive studies in the foreign exchange market business and thus prepare for brokerage and dealership careers. With knowledge and a bit of luck you should be a Forex winner!
Forex Trading can be learned by anyone. It truly is a business open to anyone. BUT the learning curve is steep, a lot of mistakes are being made and you can lose a lot of money fast by making the same mistakes all beginner forex traders make.