A Brief Look At Forex For Investors

By Chris Cole

Foreign exchange is the name given to the currency market. This market exchanges currency between nations permitting companies in one country to pay for goods and services in another. This helps international trade and investments. If you are traveling to Europe, you go to your bank and exchange greenbacks for euros so that you have cash to spend on your trip. Your bank bundles this exchange with others and then exchanges the dollars for Euros through forex.

The currency market has no physical location and is open for business twenty-four hours a day between Mon. morning in New Zealand through Friday night in the East. The average trading volume is over 3 trillion dollars a day. Profit margins are relatively low.

Almost all of the traders are central and global banks, and international business firms.

Most traders in currency exchange are central banking organizations, large multi national banks, multi state corporations, presidencies and currency stockholders. Small backers trade in derivatives rather than in the currencies themselves. Small investors account for about 7% of the total market.

The market is divided into tiers, with the 10 traders who do the most trading in the top tier. These are the huge world banks. The profit markups here are tiny and the rate between the bid and ask costs are available only to this select group. This accounts for about 53% of the trade volume. The subsequent tier of investors includes large hedge funds, investment banks and world companies.

The majority of the trades in forex, about 70%, are speculative. The trades are done in order to make a profit. Tiny speculators can't deal without delay in this market, they must use a broker. Due to the world nature of the market, until latterly, there were only a few restrictions on brokers and they could make trades against their customer's best interests. Now, there's a crackdown on brokers who are concerned in this practice.

Foreign exchange is a high speculative market. In periods of market doubt, traders will jump to historically "safe" or stable currencies like the Swiss franc. This drives the rate of exchange up for the franc in comparison to other currencies.

The derivatives available to stockholders are similar to those offered by the commodities market, although maybe with less risk, particularly if you stick with major currencies like the yen, the GPB, the euro and the US buck. The futures contract is usually held for three months, although spot contracts which are usually for a couple of days are also available. The forward contract is less risky because no money is exchanged until a future date concluded on by the parties. You may also get swap contracts where you exchange currencies for a specified length of time. The safest is the option contract that gives you a right to exchange currency at a fixed on date, but puts you under no obligation to make the exchange.

The foreign exchange market can be moneymaking and has many more liquidity than other investments. Investors wishing to enter this market should check with other stockholders to locate a reputable broker. Its wise, as with any investment stradegy, to do you homework and learn as much about the market as possible. It could be a awfully good investment for the knowledgeable trader and you can get your money when you need it.

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