The Players

There are two reasons to buy and sell currencies. About 5% of daily turnover is from companies and governments that buy or sell products and services in a foreign country or must convert profits made in foreign currencies into their domestic currency. The other 95% is trading for profit, or speculation.

For speculators, we believe the best trading opportunities are with the most commonly traded (and therefore most liquid) currencies, called "the Majors." Today, more than 85% of all daily transactions involve trading of the Majors, which include the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, Australian Dollar, and New Zealand Dollar.

There are several reasons why people trade the Forex market:

  • No Short Selling Restrictions

    Forex trading always involves buying one currency and selling another, so traders can easily trade in a rising or falling market. There is no Zero Uptick rule or any other restriction against shorting a currency.
  • Trade on Your Schedule; Respond to Changes in the Market

    Forex is a true 24-hour market, open continuously from 5:00pm ET on Sunday to 5:00 pm on Friday. With three distinct trading sessions in the US, Europe and Asia, you can trade on your own schedule and respond to breaking news.
  • No commission

    Most FX brokers are compensated by the bid/ask spread, therefore in forex there are generally no commission or transaction fees. Also on the most widely traded currency pairs you'll trade on dealing spreads as low as 2 pips (.0002 of a penny).
  • Increased Leverage

    The leverage available in forex trading is one of main attractions of this market for many traders. In forex you can have up to 200:1 leverage. With more leverage, you can increase your buying power and utilize less capital to trade. But keep in mind, increasing leverage increases risk.