This free Forex mini-course is designed to teach you the basics of the Forex market and Forex trading in a non-boring way. I know you can find this information elsewhere on the web, but let's face it; most of it is scattered and pretty dry to read. I will try to make this tutorial as fun as possible so that you can learn about Forex trading and have a good time doing it. Now, you have to be careful when opening a Forex account with any broker because some could be SCAM. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in US has jurisdiction over all Futures and Forex activity. When trading in the foreign exchange markets, individuals should only trade with a CFTC registered entity that is also a member of the National Futures Association (NFA) and is regulated by the CFTC. For non-US broker/ bank entities, be sure that the broker or bank is registered with that country's appropriate regulatory bodies.
An exciting advantages of Forex trading is the ability to generate profits whether a currency pair is up or down, in a 'rising' and 'falling' markets. Skilled Traders do make money in this field, however like any other career, success doesn't just happen overnight.
The Forex (FOReign EXchange) market appeared at the beginning of the 1970s after many countries decided to unpeg the value of their currencies from that of the US dollar or gold. This led to the forming of an international market on which currency could be exchanged and traded freely. Today, Forex is the largest financial market in the world with an average daily trading volume exceeding 5 trillion USD, roughly double that of the stock exchange. Forex also differs from the stock exchange in that it operates around the clock. It doesn't matter where you live or even where you are right now; as long as you have access to the internet, a trading terminal (a special program for trading Forex) and an account with a Forex broker, all the instruments and opportunities of Forex are open to you.
FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market, with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.
Traders are people who work on the Forex market, trying to ascertain whether the price of a certain currency will increase or decrease and making a trade for the purchase or sale of that currency. As such, in buying a currency cheaper and selling it for more, traders earn money and increase their capital on the Forex market. Traders make their decisions based on the analysis of all factors that can affect prices, allowing them to work out precisely in which direction the prices are moving and plan their trades accordingly. Profit can be made by trading Forex on a fall in the price of a particular currency as well as a rise. Furthermore, traders can execute orders of any size on the Forex market anywhere in the world, from London to Timbuktu.
