What is forex?
Whether or not you are aware of it, you already play a role in currency trading. The simple fact that you have money in your pocket makes you an investor in a nation’s currency. By holding US Dollars, for example, you have elected not to hold the currencies of other nations. When a currency is traded, the transaction is carried out on the Foreign Exchange market (also referred to as the Forex or FX market). The Forex market is the largest financial market in the world, with over $1.9 trillion changing hands every day! Unlike other financial markets that operate at a centralized location (i.e., the stock exchange), the worldwide Forex market does not have a central location. It is a global electronic network of banks, financial institutions and individual Forex traders, all involved in the buying and selling of national currencies. A major feature of the Forex market is that it operates 24 hours a day, corresponding to the opening and closing of financial centers in countries all across
“Forex” is short for foreign exchange. Quite often you can meet Forex to be also abbreviated as FX. Forex trading is quite simple: you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another – that is, you’re exchanging the sold currency for the one you’re buying. Your goal is to buy currency and resell it for a better price – this is where you or your trader or your Forex trading robot are making profits. Forex trading is done by managed Forex accounts through Forex brokers. Forex accounts are essentially foreign exchange currency accounts. You employ specialized groups that can manage Forex accounts for you. But in case you have the time and education to monitor currency markets – then you can trade yourself. This is how all Forex traders are doing.
The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the “FOREX” or “Forex” or “Retail forex” or “FX” or “Spot FX” or just “Spot” is the largest financial market in the world, with a volume of over $3.21 trillion a day. If you compare that to the $25 billion a day volume that the New York Stock Exchange trades, you can easily see how enormous the Foreign Exchange really is. It actually equates to more than three times the total amount of the stocks and futures markets combined.
