Forex trading for beginners can be difficult. In general, this is due to unrealistic but common expectations among newcomers to this market. The first question that comes to everyone's mind is: how to learn Forex from scratch? Don't worry, this article is our definitive Forex manual for beginners.
Trading terminology made easy for beginners
Spot Forex
This form of Forex trading involves buying and selling the real currency. For example, you can buy a certain amount of pound sterling and exchange it for euros, and then once the value of the pound increases, you can exchange your euros for pounds again, receiving more money compared to what you originally spent on the purchase.
Pip
A pip is the base unit in the price of the currency pair or 0.0001 of the quoted price, in non-JPY currency pairs. So, when the bid price for the EUR / USD pair goes from 1.16667 to 1.16677, that represents a difference of 1 pip.
Spread
The spread is the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of a currency pair. For the most popular currency pairs, the spread is often low, sometimes even less than a pip! For pairs that don't trade as often, the spread tends to be much higher. Before a Forex trade becomes profitable, the value of the currency pair must exceed the spread.
Margin
Margin is the money that is retained in the trading account when opening a trade. However, because the average "Retail Forex Trader" lacks the necessary margin to trade at a volume high enough to make a good profit, many Forex brokers offer their clients access to leverage.
Leverage
This concept is a must for beginner Forex traders. The leverage is the capital provided by a Forex broker to increase the volume of trades its customers can make.
Example:
- The face value of a contract or lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency. In the case of EUR/USD, it would be 100,000 euros.
- If you use a 1:10 leverage rate and have 1,000 euros in your trading account, you can trade a currency pair with a $10,000 position size.
- If the trade is successful, leverage will maximise your profits by a factor of 10. However, keep in mind that leverage also multiplies your losses to the same degree.
Therefore, leverage should be used with caution. If your account balance falls below zero euros, you can request the negative balance policy offered by your broker. ESMA regulated brokers offer this protection. Using this protection will mean that your balance cannot move below zero euros, so you will not be indebted to the broker.
Forex trading lessons for beginners
Price and Quote
When you trade Forex, you will see Ask and Bid prices.
- The ask price is the price at which you can buy the currency
- The bid price is the price at which you can sell it
One of the things you should keep in mind when you want to learn Forex from scratch is that you can trade both long and short, but you have to be aware of the risks involved in dealing with a complex product.
Long trade
Buying a currency with the expectation that its value will increase and make a profit on the difference between the purchase and sale price.
Disclaimer: Charts for financial instruments in this article are for illustrative purposes and does not constitute trading advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument provided by Admiral Markets (CFDs, ETFs, Shares). Past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.
Short trade
You sell a currency with the expectation that its value will decrease and you can buy back at a lower value, benefiting from the difference.
The price at which the currency pair trades is based on the current exchange rate of the currencies in the pair, or the amount of the second currency that you would get in exchange for a unit of the first currency (for example, if you could exchange 1 EUR for 1.68 USD, the purchase and sale price your broker gives will be on either side of this number).
If the way brokers make profit is by collecting the difference between the buy and sell prices of the currency pairs (the spread), the next logical question is: How much can a particular currency be expected to move? This depends on what the liquidity of the currency is like or how much is bought and sold at the same time. The most liquid currency pairs are those with the highest supply and demand in the Forex market. It is the banks, companies, importers, exporters and traders that generate this supply and demand.
The major currency pairs tend to be the most liquid, with the EUR / USD currency pair moving 90-120 pips on an average day and therefore providing the most opportunities for short-term trading. In contrast, the AUD / NZD pair moves between 50 and 60 pips per day, and the USD / HKD currency pair only moves at an average of 32 pips per day (looking at the value of the currency pairs, most will appear with five decimal points).
The main Forex pairs tend to be the most liquid. However, there are also many opportunities between minor and exotic currencies, especially if you have some specialised knowledge about a certain currency.
Chart types
When viewing the exchange rate in live Forex charts, there are three different options available to traders using the MetaTrader platform: line charts, bar charts or candlestick charts. When in the MetaTrader platform you can toggle between these different chart types by selecting View -> Toolbars -> Standard option. In the toolbar at the top of your screen, you will now be able to see the box below:
Line charts
A line chart connects the closing prices of the time frame you are viewing. So, when viewing a daily chart the line connects the closing price of each trading day. This is the most basic type of chart used by traders. It is mainly used to identify bigger picture trends but does not offer much else unlike some of the other chart types.
OHLC bar charts
An OHLC bar chart shows a bar for each time period the trader is viewing. So, when looking at a daily chart, each vertical bar represents one day's worth of trading. The bar chart is unique as it offers much more than the line chart such as the open, high, low and close (OHLC) values of the bar.
The dash on the left represents the opening price and the dash on the right represents the closing price. The high of the bar is the highest price the market traded during the time period selected. The low of the bar is the lowest price the market traded during the time period selected.
- The green bars are known as buyer bars as the closing price is above the opening price.
- The red bars are known as seller bars as the closing price is below the opening price.
In either case, the OHLC bar charts help traders identify who is in control of the market - buyers or sellers. These bars form the basis of the next chart type called candlestick charts which is the most popular type of Forex charting.
Candlestick charts
Candlestick charts were first used by Japanese rice traders in the 18th century. They are similar to OHLC bars in the fact they also give the open, high, low and close values of a specific time period. However, candlestick charts have a box between the open and close price values. This is also known as the 'body' of the candlestick.
Many traders find candlestick charts the most visually appealing when viewing live Forex charts. They are also very popular as they provide a variety of price action patterns used by traders all over the world.
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Best trading systems
Now that you know how to start trading in Forex, the next step is to choose the best Forex trading system for beginners. Fortunately, banks, corporations, investors, and speculators have been trading in the markets for decades, meaning that there are already a wide range of types of Forex trading strategies to choose from. These include:
- Currency Scalping: Scalping is a type of trading that consists of buying and selling currency pairs in very short periods of time, generally between a few seconds and a few hours. This is a very practical strategy that involves making a large number of small profits in the hope those profits accumulate.
- Intraday Trades: Forex intraday trading is a more conservative approach that can suit beginners. It is focused on four-hour or one-hour price trends. Trades can be open between one and four hours. In general, they focus on the main sessions for each Forex market.
- Swing Trading: Swing trading is a medium-term trading approach that focuses on larger price movements than scalping or intraday trading. This means that traders can keep a trade open for days or a few weeks. This type of trading is a good option for those who trade as a complement to their daily work.
Trading platform for beginners
In addition to choosing a broker, you should also study the currency and platforms they offer. The trading platform is the central element of your trading and your main work tool. When evaluating a trading platform, and even more so if you are a beginner in Forex, make sure that it includes the following elements:
Trust
Do you trust your trading platform to offer you the results you expect? Being able to trust the accuracy of the quoted prices, the speed of data transfer and the fast execution of orders is essential to be able to trade Forex successfully. Even more so, if you plan to use very short-term strategies, such as scalping.
The information must be available in real-time and the platform must be available at all times when the Forex market is open. This ensures that you can take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself.
Security
Will your funds and personal information be protected? A reputable Forex broker and a good Forex trading platform will take steps to ensure the security of your information, along with the ability to back up all key account information.
It will also segregate your funds from its own funds. If a broker cannot demonstrate the steps they will take to protect your account balance, it is better to find another broker.
Independent account management
Any Forex trading platform should allow you to manage your trades and your account independently, without having to ask your broker to take action on your behalf. This ensures that you can act as soon as the market moves, capitalise on opportunities as they arise and control any open position.
Analysis
Does the platform provide embedded analysis, or does it offer the tools for independent fundamental or technical analysis? Many Forex traders trade using technical indicators, and can trade much more effectively if they can access this information within the trading platform, rather than having to leave the platform to find it. This should include charts that are updated in real-time and access to up-to-date market data and news
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