Basic Guide For Understanding Forex Trading

November 5, 2010 · Posted in commodity trading · Comment 

Foreign Exchange or Forex, for short refers to the currency of foreign countries. There is a demand for the currencies of other countries due to reasons like international trade in goods and services, economy strength, and other factors. The demand and supply requirements of the different currencies worldwide is the chief reason which affects their prices vis-a-vis other currencies. To regulate the prices better and centralize market (demand and supply) action, there are Forex exchanges where people can do Forex trading. Majors, Exotics And Crosses The currencies are represented by their symbols as C1/C2, where C1 and C2 are the currencies. For example, USD/EUR will mean the rate of 1 USD in terms of “n” Euros. The pairs of currencies are called by various names like majors, crosses and exotics. “Majors” are the currency pairs of Euro, Yen, Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian dollar and Australian dollar with US dollar. “Crosses” are those currencies of the developed world which are not pitted against the dollar.

“Exotics” are the currency pairs of developing economies with those of other developing or developed economies. Ask, Bid And Spread In FX trading jargon, the “ask” price is the selling price of the currency by the broker and the “bid” price is the buying rate by that broker. Whenever you go to a bank, you will find two rates of currencies on digital board. The higher one is the selling rate for the bank, meaning that you will be required to pay higher amount for buying that currency. The lower amount is the buying rate, meaning that the bank will buy at a lower rate than selling rate. In currency trading, the spread is the difference between ask and bid rate. Spot, Forward And Contracts For Difference (Cfds) Spot price of a currency is the current Forex trading rate. If you place the spot order, the currency will be bought or sold at the rate prevailing at the time of placing the order. If you think that the currency trading rate will change in the future and you want security against fluctuation, then you fix a rate and promise to buy or sell the currency on a future date at that very price.

This is a forward contract. Forex CFDs are different to buying currencies at a bank, where you don’t physically own the currency you buy. Rather, they anticipate future movements and take a position in CFD trading accordingly so as to make profit from the difference of the current and future exchange rate on their booked position. Apart from the CFDs, there are other derivatives of different types which are meant for hedging or risk covering purposes like the futures and options. These are based on underlying security or assets called derivatives. Forex trading platforms are generally provided online by a number of duly registered and licensed companies using special software. They allow ease and convenience of trading, enlarges the customer base and volume of business and also makes the market more liquid. The customers use a number of charts to analyze the market movements and accordingly take their positions and enter into different types of contracts.

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A Guide To Futures Trading

September 2, 2010 · Posted in futures and options · Comment 

Product Description
Excerpt:

Futures trading offers a good opportunity for other people to invest in. trading in futures contracts offers people the unique opportunity to invest in something other than stocks. Although sometimes they also operate in the same manner, futures trading presents a different method of earning revenues for the amount invested on it.

There are certain advantages that futures trading offers to interested investors. One of them is that such instrum… More >>

A Guide To Futures Trading

The Definitive Guide to Futures Trading

August 25, 2010 · Posted in futures and options · Comment 

Product Description
This concluding volume of Larry Williams’ revolutionary work. Includes over 50 pages of Larry’s personal day trading knowledge. A money management technique to give you a 99% probability of doubling your money. The Ultimate Oscillator, the Zero Balance Method, loads more. This book is filled from cover to cover with usable hands-on trading strategies and tools…. More >>

The Definitive Guide to Futures Trading

The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards

August 25, 2010 · Posted in futures and options · Comment 

  • ISBN13: 9780471488026
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  • Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Product Description
Many investors learn how to trade equity options, but many are unfamiliar with futures. As headlines about commodity prices proliferate, active, self-directed investors are turning their attention to futures. The Complete Guide to Futures Trading is a comprehensive introductory handbook to investing with commodity futures, including the increasingly popular mini(r) stock index futures and the new singles stock futures contracts. It offers how-to advice from finding … More >>

The Complete Guide to Futures Trading: What You Need to Know About the Risks and Rewards

Guide to Choose Best Account for Online Futures Trading

June 14, 2010 · Posted in futures and options · Comment 

Wondering if making online futures trading is exciting? It is , understanding it is actually the best way of earning extra bucks. There are many investors who choose to take advantage of it with an online futures trading (OFT) broker. It is best to choose a broker first then think of the best online account that will suit your online trading capital investment needs. It is best to study the best options, it has to be carefully studied to calculate risk and be able to make a profitable sum in OFT.


An OFT professionally managed account is an online commodities trading product, this type of online trading account is managed by an online trading broker. He will take care of your business portfolio. He will also take care of observing commodities market trends, and help decides in your behalf which route to take. He keeps his line of communication for you, especially when the market is hot and is running profits. It will really depend on your arrangements, whether you would want to decide before investing or you will give him free reign in investing for you.


An exciting type of online commodities trading is called full services account, actually it is the same with a online futures trading professionally managed account, but you will work closely together with you OFT broker, and you will also have a responsibility for the profits and losses of online trading. Your professional online futures trading broker will just assist you one step at a time, until you have mastered the ropes of OFT. A professionally managed account is best for the neophytes of online trading.


A online futures trading broker assisted account is another type of account where an online broker will assist you, it is similar to an online futures trading full service accounts and professionally managed account, the difference actually is you are trading by yourself with a back up online commodities trader on line available for consultation. This account is usually used by an experienced online trading broker and not by those who are just starting. It is actually running an OFT by you, but with the assistance of a future online broker available anytime.


There are some traders who are considered as veterans with online futures trading, and they wouldn’t need an online future trading broker in their behalf, the account is called discount OFTaccount or deep discount account. These type of account allows you to be in perfect control of futures online trading. You are expected to work on your own trades, study market trends of prices of commodity and judge whether to invest or not to invest. Usually an online service broker assistance is needed just to keep the program running. This type of account is for veteran OFT traders.


There are variations of OFT and online futures brokers operate in accordance to what type of account you have chosen. It is best to consult a reliable OFT broker for assistance to be able to make the best decision of what account to choose before embarking on this exciting investment project.

Online Trading Guide is the best place to go for tips and resources for online trading. Please visit our website at http://onlinetradeguide.blogspot.com/

Futures Trading – A Beginners Guide To Trading Futures

May 8, 2010 · Posted in futures and options · Comment 

What is Futures Trading? Futures’ trading is a form of investment which involves speculating on the price of a commodity rising or falling.

What is a commodity? Most commodities you see and use every day of your life:

the corn in your morning cereal which you have for breakfast, the lumber that makes your breakfast-table and chairs the gold on your watch and jewelry, the cotton that makes your clothes, the steel which makes your motor car and the crude oil which runs it and takes you to work, the wheat that makes the bread in your lunchtime sandwiches the beef and potatoes you eat for lunch, the currency you use to buy all these things…

… All these commodities (and dozens more) are traded between hundreds-of-thousands of investors, every day, all over the world. They are all trying to make a profit by buying a commodity at a low price and selling at a higher price.

Futures’ trading is mainly speculative investing, i.e. it is rare for the investors to actually hold the physical commodity.

If all this is a bit over your head, and you’re looking for a solid day trading strategy, I suggest you join me on one of my live webinars by clicking here.

What is a Futures Contract?
To the uninitiated, the term contract can be a misleading however the term is used because a futures investment has an expiration date. It is similar to other forms of short-term contract. You don’t have to hold the contract until it expires. You can cancel it anytime you like. In fact, many short-term traders only hold their contracts for a few hours – or even minutes!
The expiration dates vary between commodities, and you have to choose which contract fits your market objective.

For example, if today was June 30th and you think Gold will rise in price until mid-August. The Gold contracts available are February, April, June, August, October and December. As it is the end of June and this contract has already expired, you would probably choose the August or October Gold contract.

The nearby (to expiration) contracts are usually more liquid, i.e. there are more traders trading them. Therefore, prices are a true reflection of trading activity and less likely to jump from one extreme to the other. But if you thought the price of gold would rise until September, you would choose a back-month contract (October in this case).

Nor is there a limit on the number of contracts you can trade. Many larger traders/investment companies/banks, etc. may trade thousands of contracts at a time!

All futures contracts are standardised in that they all hold a specified amount and quality of a commodity. For example, a Pork Bellies futures contract (PB) holds 40,000lbs of pork bellies of a certain size; a Gold futures contract (GC) holds 100 troy ounces of 24 carat gold; and a Crude Oil futures contract holds 1000 barrels of crude oil of a certain quality.

A Short History of Futures Trading
Before Futures Trading, a producer of a commodity (e.g. a farmer growing wheat or corn) could find himself at the mercy of a dealer when it came to selling his product. The business of transacting between producer, agent and end-use needed to be legalised so that specified amounts and quality of product could be traded between producers and dealers within a specified time-frame.

Contracts were drawn up between the two parties specifying a certain amount and quality of a commodity that would be delivered in a particular month…

…Futures trading had begun!

In 1878, a central dealing facility was opened in Chicago, USA where farmers and dealers could deal in ‘spot’ grain, i.e., immediately deliver their wheat crop for a cash settlement. Futures trading evolved as farmers and dealers committed to buying and selling at a specified time in the future. For example, a dealer would agree to buy 5,000 bushels of a specified quality of wheat from the farmer in June the following year, for a specified price. The farmer knew how much he would be paid in advance, and the dealer knew his costs.

Not too long ago futures markets consisted of only a few farm products, but now they have been joined by a huge number of tradable ‘commodities’. As well as metals like gold, silver and platinum; livestock like pork bellies and cattle; energies like crude oil and natural gas; foodstuffs like coffee and orange juice; and industrials like lumber and cotton, modern futures markets include a wide range of interest-rate instruments, currencies, stocks and other indices such as the Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P 500.

Who Trades Futures?
It didn’t take long for businessmen to realise the lucrative investment opportunities available in these markets. They didn’t have to buy or sell the ACTUAL commodity (wheat or corn, etc.), in order to trade the price movement of a commodity. As long as they exited the contract before the delivery date, the investment would be a simple trade. This was the start of speculation in the futures markets, and today, around 97% of futures trading are speculative by nature.

Andrew Baxter is one of Australia’s most highly regarded trading and investment educators. Andrew is also a co-founder and facilitator of the Elite Traders Group, Options Trading Mastery and various other educational programs aimed at leveling the playing field between professional and private traders.

For More Information About Andrew’s Free Educational Webinars and Resources, please visit the Elite Traders Group Website: http://www.EliteTradersWebinars.com.au

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