Almost 90% of the traders in currency markets are speculators. Most of the investors start forex day trading as a speculating venture to make capital gains. Once you have made the positive decision to start currency trading, you need to choose the right forex broker. The right choice will greatly influence the success of the whole enterprise.

These days, the market is overcrowded with companies and banks offering online brokerage services to individual traders and investors to access the currency markets. It is not easy to make the right choice without a certain set of criteria. These criteria will mostly depend on the interests, preferences and means of each individual trader depending on his/her trading strategies and tactics.

What is the best method to choose the right forex broker? Compose a list of questions to ask the forex broker before making a final decision. The following are some of the suggested questions. You should ask the forex broker these questions before making a final decision.

What is the amount of the interday and overnight margin and corresponding leverage? Many good online forex brokers offer margin between 2-5%. They provide leverage ranging from 20:1 to 50:1. Higher margin requirement means lower investment efficiency.

However, beware of lower margin. It means that most of the time the forex broker will be against you as a trader and will do everything possible to prevent you from winning. You will face many trading problems with such a broker. It will become difficult for you to work under such conditions.

What is the minimum contract size offered? Now days, the standard contract size is a $100,000 lot. This contract size is quite affordable. This contract size also allows small individual investors to participate in currency speculation. It allows for reasonably effective money management with limited capital.

What are the requirements of minimum deposit? The investment and financial means of traders differ. It is common that many new traders dont have sufficient funds to open an account. In my opinion, the optimal minimum amount is $10,000 with 2% margin requirement. I think $10,000 is the required minimum amount corresponding to the forex market conditions.

What are the terms of setting and executing stop and limit orders by the forex broker? The ideal condition should be the execution of the stop and limit orders at the fixed price. This should be regardless of the market conditions, its speed and its direction. Some forex brokers provide this type of execution. Other brokers reserve the right to fulfill an order with slippage under unsteady market conditions mostly defined by the broker themselves.

The value of slippage depends on the current state of the market. It can fluctuate from a few pips to tens of pips. Although it is practically impossible to arbitrate the price received from the broker during the transaction. The slippage creates favorable conditions for the abuse of the trader by the broker.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: 4, 401k, a, b, business, d, day trading, e, ecommerce, education, f, finance, futures, h, hedge funds, i, internet;business, investing, n, o, options, options on futures, p, pension funds, s, stock market, swing trading, t, u, w, wealth

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD pronounced Mac Dee) is the difference between the 26 day and 12 day exponential moving averages. A 9 day exponential moving average called the signal line or a trigger line is plotted on top of MACD to show buy/sell opportunities.

Traders use MACD in three popular ways: Crossover, overbought/oversold conditions and divergences. In wide swinging markets, MACD proves most effective. When MACD falls below the signal line, the basic rule is to sell and when MACD rises above the signal line and cuts it from below, it is a buy signal.

MACD is also very useful in telling whether the market is overbought or oversold. When the shorter moving average pulls away from the longer moving average, it is likely the price has overextended itself and it will comeback to the realistic levels.

An indication that an end to the current trend may occur soon is when MACD diverges from the currency pair. A bearish divergence occurs when MACD is making new lows and the currency price fails to reach those lows. Similarly, a bullish divergence occurs when the MACD is making new highs but the currency price fails to reach those highs.

Momentum is an oscillator that indicates the rate of price change not the actual price level. This oscillator is the net difference between the currency pair closing price and the oldest closing price from the predetermined period. The signal is triggered when the oscillator crosses the zero line. The shorter the number of days included in the calculations, the more responsive the momentum oscillator will be to the short term price fluctuations.

Another important technical indicator is the Relative Strength Index (RSI). It indicates a markets current strength or weaknesses depending on where the prices close during a given period. RSI is plotted on a scale of 01-100. A buy signal is triggered when RSI moves up from the lower band above 30. Similarly, a sell signal is triggered when RSI moves down from the upper band and comes down below a level usually set at 70.

Rate of Change (ROC) is another version of momentum oscillator is calculated by dividing the current closing price with the oldest closing price instead of subtracting the oldest closing price from the current closing price as in the momentum oscillator. It is sometimes used.

One of the most popular indictors is the Volume Indicator. A movement accompanied by an increasing volume is more likely to continue in strength than a movement accompanied with decreasing volume which is likely to fade away. It is used to show the strength of an up or down movement.

Many traders use volume indicator as their only technical indicator in trading. Other traders use it in conjunction with price charts and fundamental analysis like economic news and geopolitical news. It gives entry and exit signals and helps in overall trading. The Volume Indicator is a great source of confirmation. You should learn to use these technical indicators. You should become comfortable in using them. Every trader has his/her own favorite technical indicators. Use them to discern trends on different currency pairs and time intervals.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: a, b, business, careers, d, day trading, e, ecommerce, education, f, finance, fund raising, futures, i, internet;business, investing, l, leasing, loans, n, o, options, options on futures, p, r, t, trading, u

Good money management is the key to your long term success in currency trading. Many people ignore this aspect of trading at their own peril. Trading discipline means using a trading system that uses good money management rules to avoid using emotions in making trading decisions.

You need to have sufficient capital in your account if you want to make meaningful profits. One of the worst blunders that currency traders can make is to trade without sufficient capital. Low capital increases your chances of getting blown out too soon. This does not mean that you should have a lot of money before you start trading. It only means that you need to have enough capital in your account in order take advantage of the movements in the currency markets.

Many forex brokers fix the minimum amount required to open a standard account as $2000. However, it is recommended by most of the professional traders that you should start with at least $2500-5000 to get good results. A trader with limited capital is always a worried trader. He is always looking to minimize losses beyond the point of realistic trading. Never ever trade live without practicing on the demo account for a few months. First, try to double your account at least three times in a row on the demo account.

A standard account or a regular account lets you trade a $100,000 standard lot with a $1000 deposit. This account is often also called 100k account. The broker is giving you an interest free loan of $100,000. This $1000 is kept as the margin or guarantee by the broker. This is a 1% margin. Your account should have more than $1000 if you want to trade.

You can change the margin account to whatever you feel comfortable with. When you open an account with the broker, you must determine what the default margin is. If you start at 2% margin, then it will cost you $2000 to trade one standard lot.

Many brokers offer huge leverage to the new trades. This is done to entice them to trade more. You can get a leverage of up to 400% by some brokers. Using 400% leverage means trading $400,000 with a $1000 deposit. With a small deposit you are controlling a huge amount. Be careful! You will get wiped out in a moment. Dont use more than 4% leverage while trading in the start. Too much leverage is dangerous for you.

I am not saying that leverage is bad. You need to know it is a double edged sword that can cut both ways. It can increase your ROI but at the same time it can wipe you out in case of a slight market move going against you. Its just that you need to understand and learn how to use leverage. You can only do so with practice and with practice and more experience; you can increase the level of leverage in your trading.

Mini accounts are great for newbies. You can open a mini account with a deposit of only $300. The mini account was developed to accommodate investors who were looking for diversification out of their stocks portfolios. This small dollar requirement allows many investors to participate in the forex markets who were previously unable to do so. Recently micro accounts have also been introduced.

One lot on a mini account means $10,000. On a mini account, you have a different lot size as compared to the standard account. You only need $50 to control a mini lot of $10,000. This is a leverage of 200%. Pip size on a mini account is also small as compared to the standard account. A pip size on the mini account is equal to $1 instead of $10 as on a standard lot.

A mini account is a great way for beginners to practice forex trading. If you lose 100 pips on a mini account, it means losing only $100 as compared to losing $1000 on a standard lot. You can say a mini account reduces your risk by 10%. But it also reduces the amount of profit that you can make. Start with at least $500 on a mini account.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: a, b, business, c, careers, commodities, credit, currencies, d, day trading, debt, e, ecommerce, f, finance, forex, futures, i, internet;business, investing, n, o, options, options on futures, p, stocks, trading, u

As a forex trader, you should learn technical analysis. You need to understand the various terms that are frequently used in Technical Analysis. Technical Analysis is the study of historical and ongoing price data through charts, price patterns and chart indicators. Charts display price moves in time intervals using bars and candlesticks.

Technical Analysis is based on a number of assumptions. The most important is that all available information is immediately impounded into the market prices of the currencies. The second assumption made is that prices always move in trends or patterns. The third assumption that is made is that history repeats itself. This means you can predict the future price action by studying the past prices.

Historical studies have shown that once a trend is in motion, it is most likely to continue rather than reverse it. Only a bigger force in the opposite direction can reverse a trend once set in motion. The more one studies chart patterns, the clearer it becomes that reading and interpreting chart patterns are more an art form than a skill in technical analysis.

Two charts are important in technical analysis. Bar charts and Candlesticks charts. Bar charts display price data in vertical lines that represents price action during a given time period. The tip at the bottom of a bar chart is the low for the period. The tip at the top is the high for the period. The open and close are represented by small horizontal dashes called tics. The tic to the left of the vertical line is the open. The tic to the right of the line is the close.

Candlestick charts are similar to bar charts in many ways but different in other ways. Candlestick charts were developed by Japanese rice traders. They are used extensively in technical analysis. Like the bar charts, the top of the vertical line represent the high. The bottom of the vertical line represents the low. However, the price action between the open and the close is represented differently by the use of candlestick bodies. A shaded body represents a lower closing price below a higher opening price. A hollow body represents a higher closing price above a lower opening price.

The price activity above and below the body is referred to as wicks or tails. A trader may use a 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 and 180 minutes charts. For swing and position trading, a trader may use a daily, weekly or a monthly chart. These charts all use the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or the Eastern Standard Time (EST) depending on the software that you use. But you can always adjust them according to your local time.

While doing technical analysis, you need to understand what are markets patterns? What are Uptrends? What are downtrends and what are sideway trends? Markets expand and retrace constantly. Market prices may continue to expand for sometimes either upward or downward. It is the nature of the markets to surge then pause and retrace.

Trends in currency markets make a series of peaks and troughs as they move. An uptrend consists of a series of ascending peaks and troughs. Each peak higher than the last peak! Each trough lower than the last trough! A downtrend consists of a series of descending peaks and troughs. A sidways trend consists of a series of horizontal peaks and troughs. All peaks and all troughs almost on the same level indicate a sideways market.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: a, b, business, c, careers, credit, d, day trading, debt, e, ecommerce, f, finance, futures, i, internet;business, investing, loans, n, o, options, options on futures, p, r, trading, u

Moving averages (MAs) are a very popular tool used by most of the forex traders. They are a lagging indicator of the price action. Using moving averages short and long term trends are easier to identify.

Moving averages are calculated on the users specifications and can be formatted to different style of trading and time frames. For example, if you use a 90 time frame moving average, the prices of the last 90 times frames is added together and divided by 90.

A moving average can be calculated based on the opening, high, low or closing price within a time frame. Since the closing price is the most important price, most traders prefer to use the closing price. There are three types of moving averages. First one is the Simple Moving Average. Second is Weighted Moving Average and the third is the exponential moving average.

The simple moving average as the name suggests is simply calculated by dividing the price in each time frame by the number of time frames. A weighted moving average gives more weight to the current prices as compared to the prices in the last few time frames. In an exponentially smoothed moving average, the chart is calculated gradually with less emphasis on the prices in the latter time frames. Exponential moving averages are smoother as compared to the simple.

Another important technical indicator is the Bollinger Bands. What are Bollinger Bands? These are bands plotted at a standard deviation above and below a moving average. The base of a band is moving average. The bands width is determined by volatility. The standard deviation is a measure of volatility so the bands are self adjusting. They widen during volatile markets and contract during less volatile periods. Bollinger bands bracket almost 90% of the market action.

Bollinger bands have many useful characteristics. Knowing when the prices are high and low, a trader can make rational investment decisions by comparing price action with the action of other indicators. They are curves drawn in and around the price structure. This provides relative definitions of high and low.

Bollinger bands can be applied to mutual funds, forex trading, futures, indices and most other types of trading. Sharp price action tends to occur as the bands tighten and as volatility lessens. A continuation of current trend is implied when the price moves outside the bands.

A move that originates at one band tends to go all the way to the other band. When bottoms and tops made outside the bands are followed by bottoms and tops made inside the bands, reversal of the trend is highly likely.

The 10% price action outside the bands is most likely going to approximate areas where prices will return to within the bands. When the bands are flat and narrow, this indicates that price volatility is lower than in previous time periods.

When the bands begin to flare and widen, this indicates increased volatility and start of a new strong trend. Wide bands are usually taken as an indication of a very strong move.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: a, b, business, c, careers, credit, d, day trading, debt, e, ecommerce, f, finance, forex, futures, i, internet;business, investing, loans, n, o, options, options on futures, p, r, trading, u

Perhaps the best advice that you will receive in your trading career is live to trade another day. Currency markets are volatile, brutal and unforgiving. You should learn to survive in the markets.

The most common factor that causes many currency traders and investors to blow up their accounts and lose all their money is greed. Once you start taking unnecessary risks you are in trouble. You want a secret formula that never loses a trade. You will start looking for the Holy Grail technical indictor or a forex robot that can make you rich. You will believe that by discovering one, you will become rich.

Unfortunately there is no Holy Grail for anyone in trading. You will win and you will lose. So you must learn not to risk more than 2% of your account on one trade. Grow your account incrementally over time. Never ever be tempted to risk big making one single winning trade that can make you rich.

Now, know how much you are willing to risk in a single trade. I have said 2%. But if you want to be aggressive you can go up to 5%. But stay between 2-5%. Dont exceed it. On the other hand, if you are conservative, you should consider risking between 1-2% only.

Once you have decided on the risk you are willing to take, knowing the rest is simple. Suppose you have a $50,000 account and you decide on a risk of 2%. How much you can risk on a single trade? You can only risk (50,000) (0.02) =$1,000. This is the maximum you should risk on a single trade.

However, if you are trading more than one position at the same time, the amount may become higher. Lets suppose, you are in 3 trades! You risk only $1,000 per trade. So the total money at risk will be (3) (1000) =$3,000. When you have determined your risk, you are can determine the trade size.

Trade size is the number of contracts you purchase in any one trade. To determine the trade size, you need to first determine where you want to put your stop loss. Lets use an example to make it clear. Suppose you are willing to risk $1000 on trading EUR/USD pair. You decide on a stop loss of 50 pips. Each pip on EUR/USD pair is $10 worth. So the number of contracts that you need to trade are (1,000)/ (50) (10) =2.

You have taken the guesswork out of your trading once you have determined your risk level and calculated the trade size. You can sleep well now knowing how much of your money is at risk. You are going to be able to trade tomorrow, no matter what happens today.

Using these common money management rules will help you avoid the pitfall of losing almost all the money in your account. Learning to survive the markets and trade another day is the essence of trading. This can help your trading take the next level of profitability.

Tweet This Post

Technorati Tags: a, b, business, c, credit, d, day trading, e, ecommerce, f, finance, futures, internet;business, investing, loans, n, o, options, options on futures, p, r, t, trading, u