FOREX Trader Video Tutorials

Tune in to our video tutorials to learn about key elements of our trading platform and products.

The FOREXTrader platforms combine ease of use and flexibility with a full suite of professional charting and order management tools. You can use the same User ID and Password to switch between platforms at will, putting you in total control of your trading.

Designed for active traders looking for an edge, this Windows-based platform offers a highly intuitive user interface, advanced customization features and a full suite of professional trading tools. With FOREXTrader, you can create and save multiple layouts and customize your workspace to fit your trading style.

Please turn on your speakers to view video tutorials.

Downloading FOREXTrader can be completed in three easy steps. Watch this tutorial to find out how. Length: 00:48 seconds

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Forex Online Chat / Help

CHAT WITH FOREX, TRADE EXPERT ONLINE NOW.
IT HELP U WITH THE VERY BEGINNING. CLICK ON IMAGE.

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$50,000 Forex Practice Trading Account

Experience the exciting world of currency trading with a free practice account. Register below for unlimited access to the FOREXTrader platform for the next 30 days, along with:

Real-time executable quotes in 37 currency pairs and spot gold · Powerful charting package for technical analysis · 24-hour news headlines, research and more

Test your strategies under real market conditions, with no risk and no obligation.


visit for FREE ACCOUNT

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How to read a spot gold quote

Reading a spot gold or silver quote is very similar to reading a forex quote. It is even represented the same way (for example, spot gold traded against the US dollar is XAU/USD).

In this example, it's simple if you remember three things:

XAU/USD 900.25

1. The first symbol listed is 1 troy ounce of gold
2. The value of gold is always 1.
3. The price literally translates to; 1 ounce of gold is equal to 900.25 U.S. dollars.

When the price or quote for gold goes up, gold has strengthened in value and is now worth more dollars than before. If the price of gold goes down, it takes fewer dollars to purchase 1 ounce of gold, and the value of the dollar has increased when compared to the value of gold.

Bids, asks and the spread

Just like other markets, spot gold and silver quotes consist of two sides, the bid and the ask:

The BID is the price at which you can SELL.
The ASK is the price at which you can BUY.

The difference between the bid and ask prices is called the spread.

What does it all mean?

Spot gold and silver prices are quoted internationally in U.S. dollars per troy ounce. In this example, a quote of XAU/USD 900.25 means that 1 oz gold is equal to $900.25. If you buy a single lot of gold (1 lot = 10 oz) at this price and sell it at a higher price, your profit would be the difference between these two prices. In this way, trading spot gold on FOREX.com's trading platforms is nearly identical to trading currencies.

A typical quote you might receive for spot gold is 900.25/75. This means that you could sell one or more lot(s) of gold at 900.25, or buy at 900.75. The spread you would pay in this example would be the difference between these two prices (900.75-900.25) or 0.50.

The dollar amount represented by the change in price will depend upon the size of the trade you have placed. The smallest amount you can trade with FOREX.com is 1 lot, which represents 10 troy oz. At 1 lot, the smallest price change possible (0.01) is equivalent to $0.10.

Let's look at an example:

Let's say you decided to buy 1 lot of XAU/USD (spot gold) at 900.25.

A few minutes later, the bid (or sell) price has risen to 900.95, and you decide to exit your trade. You bought 1 lot at 900.25 and sold at 900.95, making 70 pips in the process. 70 pips, at $0.10 per pip, equal $7.00.
Now, let's say that we once again buy 1 lot of XAU/USD at 900.25.

A few minutes later, the bid (or sell) price has weakened to 899.60 and you decide to minimize your losses and sell the 1 lot of XAU/USD. The difference between buying 1 lot at 900.25 and selling 1 lot at 899.60 is 65 pips. 65 pips, at $.10 per pip, equals $6.50.

Pips or points, what's the difference?

Like forex prices, spot gold prices are quoted in tiny increments called pips ("percentage in point"). Located at the second decimal place for a spot gold quote, or 0.01, each pip represents 1 cent in dollar value.

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Trading Spot Gold and Silver

Much like trading currency pairs, spot metals enables traders to take a long or short position in gold (XAU/USD) or silver (XAG/USD) while simultaneously taking the opposite position in the U.S. dollar or other major currencies. Spot gold and silver trades globally in an over-the-counter market, and prices float freely based on supply and demand. The spot price is the price quoted for the metal to be paid for (including delivery) two days following the date of the actual transaction (also known as the settlement date).

Spot gold and silver trades a lot like currency pairs in the foreign exchange market. Trading is available 24 hours a day from Sunday at 6:00 pm ET to Friday at 5:00 pm ET. There is no central market however, the main centers for trading spot gold and silver are London, New York, and Zurich. Liquidity is typically highest when European market hours overlap with trading in New York - roughly four hours a day during the morning for U.S. traders. There may be some illiquid periods for trading spot gold and silver around the close of the US market (5pm ET to 6 pm ET). There is a twice-daily fix for gold and a daily fix for silver in London that helps set reference points for intraday prices. Settlement is very similar to forex settlements.

Who trades spot gold and silver, and why?

There are many different reasons that drive investors to trade spot gold and silver:

* Speculation on the price based on the use of fundamental and or technical analysis
* Creating a balanced, diversified asset allocation model for an overall investment
portfolio
* Applying risk management as a hedge against market volatility and financial
crises caused by economic, political or social turmoil.

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Forex Basics Part IV

Calculating Profit and Loss

For ease of use, most online trading platforms automatically calculate the P&L of a traders' open position

To illustrate an FX trade, consider the following two examples.
Let's say that the current bid/ask for EUR/USD is 1.46160/190, meaning you can buy 1 euro for 1.46190 or sell 1 euro for 1.46160.

Suppose you decide that the Euro is undervalued against the US dollar. To execute this strategy, you would buy Euros (simultaneously selling dollars), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.

So you make the trade: to buy 100,000 Euros you pay 146,190 dollars (100,000 x 1.46190). Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be approximately $1,461 for this trade.

As you expected, Euro strengthens to 1.46230/260. Now, to realize your profits, you sell 100,000 Euros at the current rate of 1.46230, and receive $146,230

You bought 100k Euros at 1.46190, paying $146,190. Then you sold 100k Euros at 1.46230, receiving $146,230. That's a difference of 4 pips, or in dollar terms ($146,190 - 146,230 = $40).

Total profit = US $40.

Now in the example, let's say that we once again buy EUR/USD when trading at 1.46160/190. You buy 100,000 Euros you pay 146,190 dollars (100,000 x 1.46190).

However, Euro weakens to 1.46110/140. Now, to minimize your loses to sell 100,000 Euros at 1.46110 and receive $146,110.

You bought 100k Euros at 1.46190, paying $146,190. You sold 100k Euros at 1.46110, receiving $146,110. That's a difference of 8 pips, or in dollar terms ($146,190 - $146,110 = $80).
Total loss = US $80.

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Forex Basics Part III

Leverage & Margin

Leverage trading, or trading on margin, means you aren't required to put up the full value of the position.

Forex trading offers more leverage than stocks or futures - up to 200 times the value of your account. Of course keep in mind that increased leverage also increases your risk.

FOREX.com: No debit balances, no margin calls

At FOREX.com, your risk is only limited to funds on deposit. Our margin policy eliminates concerns about debit balances by guaranteeing that you will never owe more than you have in your account.

More leverage means more opportunity - and more risk

It's crucial to remember: increasing leverage increases risk. To limit downside risk, monitor your account regularly and use stop-loss orders on every open position.

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Forex Basics Part II

Understanding Forex Quotes

Reading a foreign exchange quote is simple if you remember two things:

1. The first currency listed is the base currency
2. The value of the base currency is always 1.

As the centerpiece of the forex market, the US dollar is usually considered the base currency for quotes. When the base currency is USD, think of the quote as telling you what a US dollar is worth in that other currency.

When USD is the base currency and the quote goes up, that means USD has strengthened in value and the other currency has weakened. Rising quotes mean a US dollar can now buy more of the other currency than before.

Majors not based on the US dollar

The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). For these pairs, where USD is not the base currency, a rising quote means the US dollar is weakening and buys less of the other currency than before.

In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, the base currency is getting stronger. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.

Cross currencies

Currency pairs that don't involve USD at all are called cross currencies, but the premise is the same.

Bids, asks and the spread

Just like other markets, forex quotes consist of two sides, the bid and the ask:

The BID is the price at which you can SELL base currency.
The ASK is the price at which you can BUY base currency.

What's a pip?

Forex prices are often so liquid, they're quoted in tiny increments called pips, or "percentage in point". A pip refers to the fourth decimal point out, or 1/100th of 1%.

For Japanese yen, pips refer to the second decimal point. This is the only exception among the major currencies.

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Forex Basics Part I

What's Forex?

"Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another - that is, you're exchanging the sold currency for the one you're buying. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market.

Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). Unlike stocks or futures, there's no centralized exchange for forex. All transactions happen via phone or electronic network.

Who trades currencies, and why?

Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:

• Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
  
  
• Speculation for profit (95%).

Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs. "The Majors" include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.

The world's most traded market, trading 24 hours a day

With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, forex is the most traded market in the world.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET, forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, first to Tokyo, London, and New York.

Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations, whenever they occur - day or night.

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