Module 16 – Forex
Introduction
The Forex market is an estimated nearly $4 trillion per day. In comparison, the New York Stock Exchange trades just $30 billion per day. In fact, Forex trading is more than the combined volume of all the major stock exchanges, futures exchanges, and other financial instruments around the world. The Forex markets are open 24/5 (or 24/6, depending how you look on the times in other countries).
It’s really in the last few decades that participation in the Forex market has been made so easy, due to the personal computer and the Internet. Most participation in the market comes from trading for speculation, rather than a requirement for foreign currency – some estimates put this at 95% of all trading. 40% of all trades are held for less than two days, and 80% last less than two weeks.
The Advantages of Forex Trading
The proponents of Forex trading say that it’s the best market to trade because of the following advantages and benefits.
- Open 24 hours per day during the week
- low capital requirements to trade
- commission free
- most liquid market, avoiding manipulation
- instant fills on orders
- no restrictions on shorting
- constant action, no such thing as bear market
- as high as 400 to 1 leverage
