Saturday, September 22, 2012

eToro Forex platform


eToro is in this moment probably the most modern and original Forex platform on Internet. Thanks to the deepened studies of the needs and the habits of traders, and ergonomics, considering that people are different among them, eToro provides that each operation could be done in several ways, different from each other therefore everyone surely find way to work more closely to him. Everything is very intuitive and you will be able to start very easily, without even reading the instructions, which however should be consulted.
Another feature, which the users will like a lot, is that in certain periods eToro applies a spread of just 2 pips on the major currencies and a benefit like this isn’t so easy to find on the other platforms. Moreover, a real account can be opened with a really small amount, only 50 dollars. In this way, this platform tries to open the Forex market to people with the modest financial resources. 


But eToro doesn’t want to be another impersonal computer tool, so it offers its users a great forum where you can exchange opinions, ideas and experiences with the other members, and a chat in real time with other traders. In real time you can see trends followed by the other users, namely those who buy and sell (in percentages) the main currency pairs. And even more, there are tournaments between traders with prizes: the winner is the trader that produces the hugest profit in certain period, and the first prize is 10,000 U.S. dollars. So eToro is not only a Forex platform, but an authentic Forex community, too.
As the other good platform, eToro offers a demo account with 2000 dollars, obviously a virtual money, where you can achieve experience, learning about the world of the Forex and the use of the platform itself. Even using a demo account you are participating in the tournament with the other traders and the top 10 traders are rewarded with the prizes ranging from 100 to 300 dollars. Various options are offered for funding your account and withdrawing from it, starting from the usual and inevitable credit card, through a bank transfer, PayPal or convenient, or Western Union to transfer money. 


Friday, September 21, 2012

Forex Web Platforms


Today, on Internet are present numerous sites that use various Forex platforms, as usually are called applications, i.e. the software that allow us to sell and to buy currencies in the real time. The purpose of this page is to supply to potential users useful information about some of them, that we use frequently and that we acquaint well. We hope that this can help especially those that approach for the first time Forex trading, and experienced users, too.
Our selection of Forex platforms are based on seriousness, reputation and tradition of the companies that manage particular platform, security of the platforms, simplicity and powerful at the same time of the interface, and availability of training mode, so client can become familiar with platform, before he starts to operate with the real money. Surely, very important elements for trading are applied spread, especially for the majors, the most traded, bonuses and prizes, security, simplicity and celerity of the procedures of funds and withdrawals from your account, and of course assistance and support offered to the clients.
It’s essential to know well certain Forex platform before starting to trade with the real money. This knowledge protect us from unpleasant surprises that we can have using non reliable platforms, or those not sufficiently tested. One can have good information searching on Internet with search engines, looking for opinions and judgements of experienced users that often put them in various forums and personal blogs. 

eToro

eToro is a new Forex platform, founded in 2008, that uses latest information technology in computer science, and ergonomics knowledge to give to a final user an innovative, visual interface, visually very pleasant and modern, but more important, very intuitive and extremely easy to use. Procedures to open or to close one position can be done with only one click of the mouse. Once the position is opened so quick, all the parameters, such "stop loss" or "take profit" can be adjusted to suit your necessities. The whole process, from the opening to the closing of the position, is very clear and transparent.
Like any good platform, eToro also offers real-time charts of the trends of the currencies and the latest news in the world, but also the possibility to chat with other customers and to exchange ideas in one dedicated forum. They organise for customers championships trading and customers who have had more success, that have made the biggest profits, are rewarded with prizes in cash, credited to the account to the real account. So a job, sometimes very stressful, becomes also a pleasant online entertainment and a place where you can meet other people with similar interests as yours. 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Forex Trading Examples

Here are two detailed examples of intraday trading: this means that you open and close the position within one Forex day. Remember that the Forex day starts at 5:00 PM EST (10:00 PM GMT / 22:00), and ends a day after at the same time.

Long position example (buying position)

Detailed description
You have a EUR 1,000 account and would like to buy a full lot (100,000) of the pair USD/JPY.
Step 1
You decide to buy the pair at the following rates:
USD/JPY 110.00/110.03
EUR/JPY 160.00/160.03
NOTE: We will use the EUR/JPY rate to transform the trade currency into your euro account base currency.
To buy 100,000 USD with JPY, the broker provides you 100,000 USD x 110.03 (The ask price), which equals 11,003,000 JPY. With 11,003,000 JPY, you buy 100,000 USD.
Having used 1:100 leverage, you are able to open this position with a 1,000 USD investment (110,030 JPY). EUR 687.69 (110,030 JPY / 160.00) is used as margin to cover your position. You are left with a EUR 312.31 balance in your account. Now you have an open long position.
Step 2
When you sell the pair, the rates are:
USD/JPY 110.70/110.73
EUR/JPY 160.01/160.04

You sell USD at 110.70 for a total of 11,070,000 JPY. Your profit is 67,000 JPY ( 11,070,000 - 11,003,000), i.e. 67,000 JPY / 160.04 (ask price) = 418.65 EUR. This means that your account now contains 1,418.65 EUR (1,000.00 initial account's amount + 418.65 profit).
Using leverage to your advantage, you made a 61% (100 x 418.65 / 687.69) profit in one day. Only in the Forex market can you make such huge profits, so quickly.
Long summary
Step 1
When you buy the pair the rate is:
USD/JPY 110.00/110.03

You buy 100,000 USD against JPY at 110.03.
Step 2
When you sell the pair the rates is:
USD/JPY 110.70/110.73

The difference between the selling and buying price is 110,70 – 110,03 = 0.67 JPY: this is your profit for each USD invested, for a total of 100,000 USD x 0.67 JPY = 67,000 JPY, or 418.65 EUR, as seen above. 

Short position example (selling position)

Detailed description
Your basic account currency is EUR, with an amount of 1,000 EUR, and you would like to sell 100,000 (a full lot) of the pair USD/JPY (selling USD against JPY).
Step 1
You decide to sell the pair at the following rates:
USD/JPY 110.00/110.03
EUR/USD 1.4000/1.4003
NOTE: We will use the EUR/USD rate to transform the trade currency into your euro account base currency.
Using a leverage of 100:1, you are able to sell USD 100,000 USD/JPY, selling USD 100,000 and buying JPY 11,000,000 (100,000 x 110.00). The 1,000 USD translates into EUR 714.29 (1,000 USD / 1.4000), which is margin to cover your position. You are left with a EUR 285.71 balance in your account. Now you have an open short position.
Step 2
When you buy the pair, the rates are:
USD/JPY 109.20/109.23
EUR/USD 1.4006/1.4009

You buy USD at 109.23 (ask price), for a total of 100,704.93 USD (11,000,000 JPY / 109.23). Your profit is 704.93 USD (= 100,704.93 - 100,000), i.e. 503.20 EUR (704.93 USD / 1.4009). Your account now contains 1,503.20 EUR (1,000.00 initial account’s amount + 503.20 profit).
You made a 70% (100 x 503.20 / 714.29) profit in a day.
Short summary
Step 1
When you sell the pair the rate is:
USD/JPY 110.00/110.03

You sell 100,000 USD against JPY at 110.00.
Step 2
When you buy the pair, the rate is:
USD/JPY 109.20/109.23
You buy USD at 109.23. The difference between the selling and buying price is 110.00 – 109.23 = 0.77 JPY: this is your profit for each USD invested, for a total of 100,000 USD x 0.77 JPY = 77,000 JPY, or 503.20 EUR, as explained above.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

World Forex Hours


The Forex market is the only 24-hour market, opening Sunday 5 PM EST, and running continuously until Friday 5 PM EST. The Forex day starts with the opening of Sydney’s (Australia) Forex market at 5:00 PM EST (10:00 PM GMT / 22:00), and ends with the closing of New York’s market, a day after, at 5:00 PM EST (10:00 PM GMT / 22:00), immediately reopening in Sydney restart trading.
Note: EST is an abbreviation for Eastern Standard Time (e.g. New York), while GMT is an abbreviation for Greenwich Mean Time (e.g. London).
The main Forex markets, in the order of their opening times, are: Sydney, Tokyo, Frankfurt, London and New York. On the chart below, you can see the hourly course of the Forex-trading day. 

 Note: Tokyo’s market doesn’t start in the proper time zone due to the fact that it opens 1 hour
after the other markets (9:00 AM Local Time, while others open at 8:00 AM Local Time).

 The following table illustrates the opening and closing local times for a Forex day and week, in function of time zones. 

Time Zone Opening/Closing time* Week starts Week ends  
GMT+12 10:00 AM (10:00) Monday 10:00 AM Saturday 10:00 AM Auckland
GMT+11 09:00 AM (09:00) Monday 09:00 AM Saturday 09:00 AM  
GMT+10 08:00 AM (08:00) Monday 08:00 AM Saturday 08:00 AM Sydney
GMT+9 07:00 AM (07:00) Monday 07:00 AM Saturday 07:00 AM Tokyo
GMT+8 06:00 AM (06:00) Monday 06:00 AM Saturday 06:00 AM Hong Kong
GMT+7 05:00 AM (05:00) Monday 05:00 AM Saturday 05:00 AM Bangkok
GMT+6 04:00 AM (04:00) Monday 04:00 AM Saturday 04:00 AM Dhaka
GMT+5 03:00 AM (03:00) Monday 03:00 AM Saturday 03:00 AM Karachi
GMT+4 02:00 AM (02:00) Monday 02:00 AM Saturday 02:00 AM  
GMT+3 01:00 AM (01:00) Monday 01:00 AM Saturday 01:00 AM  
GMT+2 00:00 AM (00:00) Sunday 00:00 AM Friday 00:00 AM Cairo
GMT+1 11:00 PM (23:00) Sunday 11:00 PM Friday 11:00 PM Frankfurt
GMT 10:00 PM (22:00) Sunday 10:00 PM Friday 10:00 PM London
GMT-1 09:00 PM (21:00) Sunday 09:00 PM Friday 09:00 PM  
GMT-2 08:00 PM (20:00) Sunday 08:00 PM Friday 08:00 PM  
GMT-3 07:00 PM (19:00) Sunday 07:00 PM Friday 07:00 PM  
GMT-4 06:00 PM (18:00) Sunday 06:00 PM Friday 06:00 PM  
GMT-5 05:00 PM (17:00) Sunday 05:00 PM Friday 05:00 PM New York
GMT-6 04:00 PM (16:00) Sunday 04:00 PM Friday 04:00 PM Chicago
GMT-7 03:00 PM (15:00) Sunday 03:00 PM Friday 03:00 PM  
GMT-8 02:00 PM (14:00) Sunday 02:00 PM Friday 02:00 PM Los Angeles
GMT-9 01:00 PM (13:00) Sunday 01:00 PM Friday 01:00 PM  
GMT-10 00:00 PM (12:00) Sunday 00:00 PM Friday 00:00 PM Hawaii
GMT-11 11:00 AM (11:00) Sunday 11:00 AM Friday 11:00 AM  


If you live in New York you can see from the table (GMT-5) that daily trade starts at 5:00 PM (17:00), and ends at 5:00 PM (17:00) the day after. The weekly opening is at Sunday, while the weekly closing is Friday.
Familiarize yourself with your local opening and closing times, because this will impact when you must close your day trades.
For example, if you live in London (GMT), the Forex day ends and restarts at 10:00 PM (22:00). If you open a position at 9:30 PM (21:30), and close it at 10:30 AM (22:30), your trade goes from one to another Forex day and rollover/swap are applied. If you open a position at 10:30 PM (22:30), and close it next day at 11:00 AM (11:00), your trade is intraday (closed within the same Forex day), and no rollover/swap apply.


Important: A Forex day doesn’t correspond to a normal/calendar day.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Forex Terms

In this little glossary you can find explanations for some of the most used terms in Forex. 
Term Explenation
Ask The price at which a broker is willing to sell (same as Offer) a currency pair. This is the price the trader pays when buying a currency. If the quote for EUR/USD is 1.4000/1.4003, 1.4003 is the Ask price.
Bid The price at which broker is willing to buy a currency pair. This is the price the trader receives when selling a currency. If the quote for EUR/USD is 1.4000/1.4003, 1.4000 is the Bid price.
Bid/Ask Spread Or simply Spread. The spread is the difference between the Bid and Ask price. If the quote for EUR/USD is 1.4000/1.4003, the spread is 0.0003 USD (3 pips).
Broker An individual or firm who handles trader's orders to sell or to buy currency, and charges the customer a commission for the service.
Closing rate The rate of the last transaction completed of the considered period.
Currency Pairs Foreign Exchange traders buy one currency while simultaneously selling another. Therefore, Foreign Exchange quotes are expressed in currency pairs. The four major currency pairs are the EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, and USD/JPY. The first currency in the currency pair is the "base currency", while the second is the "quote currency" or "counter currency". For example, in the pair EUR/USD the EUR is the base currency, and the USD is the quote currency.
Currency Pair Price The price of a currency pair is usually a five digit number, with four digits to the right of the decimal point. In some instances, most usually with the Japanese Yen, currency pairs have only four digits.
When, for example, EUR/USD is listed at 1.4000, it means that it takes 1.4000 units of the quote currency (USD) to buy a unit of the base currency (EUR). If the price of the currency pair rises to 1.4050, a trader with a long position (buying EUR against USD) makes a profit, while a trader with a short position (selling EUR against USD) takes a loss.
Day Trading Refers to opening and closing the same position within same day.
Leverage The ratios between the contract value and the deposit required from trader (margin) to trade. For example, if the trader must deposit $500 to have a $100,000 position (to buy a full Lot), the leverage is 200:1 ($100,000/$500). The inverse value is the percentage margin requirement: in this example 0.5% (0,005 = $500/$100,000).
Long When a trader buys a currency pair it is called going long. The trader’s position will appreciate if the price of the currency pair increases.
Margin The initial investment needed to open one position, used as collateral to cover the credit risk of the broker/dealer. The percentage of the required margin is inversely related to the leverage.
Opening rate The rate of the first transaction completed of the considered period.
Pip An abbreviatian of Percentage In Point. The smallest measure of price move that a given exchange rate can make in Forex trading. For most major currency pairs, one pip equals 1/100th of 1 percent (0.0001). A notable exception is the USD/JPY, in which each pip is 0.01. For instance, if pair EUR/USD moves from 1.4000 to 1.4007, the pair has appreciated seven pips.
Short When a trader sells a currency pair it is called going short. The trader’s position will appreciate if the price of the currency pair decreases.

Basic Forex Charts


Line Chart

The line chart is the simplest charting option. Rate history is measured according to customizable time intervals, and the points, which illustrate the closing rate at that particular time, are connected by a line. The horizontal axis lists the time units (for example: 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, etc.) and the vertical axis illustrates the rate value. For example, the graphic below details 100 intervals of 15 minutes on the horizontal axis, for a total of 1500 minutes (25 hours). This means that the closing rates are indicated at each 15 minute interval. 
 One of the problems with the line chart is that only the closing rate is shown for every time interval, and doesn’t let us see changes that happened within this period. Using the OHLC bar chart, traders are able to see all price changes occurring within each time interval. Using the OHLC bar chart, traders may identify the opening rate (O), the highest rate (H), the lowest rate (L), and the closing rate (C), within each time interval, as shown on the graphic below (note that the opening rate is on the left, while the closing rate is on the right of the bar). 
 An OHLC bar chart, using 10 intervals of 15 minutes, looks like this: 

Candlestick Chart

The candlestick chart, based on an old Japanese method, is similar to the OHLC. The body of the candle is red when the opening rate is higher than the closing rate. The body of the candle is green when the opening rate is lower than the closing rate. When the candlestick is green the top of the body, the thick center of the candlestick, represents the closing rate. When the candlestick is red the bottom of the body represents the closing rate. The two lines extending from the bottom and top of the body illustrate the high and low of each particular time interval. 

 A candlestick chart, using 11 intervals of 15 minutes, looks like this: 

Monday, September 17, 2012

List of World's Currencies for Forex

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provided ISO 4217 standard that define codes of three letter and relative three digits number for each currency. Here is a relative table.

Code Num Currency State
AED 784 United Arab Emirates dirham United Arab Emirates
AFN 971 Afghani Afghanistan
ALL 008 Lek Albania
AMD 051 Armenian Dram Armenia
ANG 532 Netherlands Antillian Guilder Netherlands Antilles
AOA 973 Kwanza Angola
ARS 032 Argentine Peso Argentina
AUD 036 Australian Dollar Australia
AWG 533 Aruban Guilder Aruba
AZN 944 Azerbaijanian Manat Azerbaijan
BAM 977 Convertible Marks Bosnia and Herzegovina
BBD 052 Barbados Dollar Barbados
BDT 050 Bangladeshi Taka Bangladesh
BGN 975 Bulgarian Lev Bulgaria
BHD 048 Bahraini Dinar Bahrain
BIF 108 Burundian Franc Burundi
BMD 060 Bermudian Dollar Bermuda
BND 096 Brunei Dollar Brunei
BOB 068 Boliviano Bolivia
BRL 986 Brazilian Real Brazil
BSD 044 Bahamian Dollar Bahamas
BTN 064 Ngultrum Bhutan
BWP 072 Pula Botswana
BYR 974 Belarussian Ruble Belarus
BZD 084 Belize Dollar Belize
CAD 124 Canadian Dollar Canada
CDF 976 Franc Congolais Democratic Republic of Congo
CHF 756 Swiss Franc Switzerland, Liechtenstein
CLP 152 Chilean Peso Chile
CNY 156 Yuan Renminbi Mainland China
COP 170 Colombian Peso Colombia
CRC 188 Costa Rican Colon Costa Rica
CUP 192 Cuban Peso Cuba
CVE 132 Cape Verde Escudo Cape Verde
CYP 196 Cyprus Pound Cyprus
CZK 203 Czech Koruna Czech Republic
DJF 262 Djibouti Franc Djibouti
DKK 208 Danish Krone Denmark
DOP 214 Dominican Peso Dominican Republic
DZD 012 Algerian Dinar Algeria
EEK 233 Kroon Estonia
EGP 818 Egyptian Pound Egypt
ERN 232 Nakfa Eritrea
ETB 230 Ethiopian Birr Ethiopia
EUR 978 Euro Eurozone
FJD 242 Fiji Dollar Fiji
FKP 238 Falkland Islands Pound Falkland Islands
GBP 826 Pound Sterling United Kingdom
GEL 981 Lari Georgia
GHS 288 Cedi Ghana
GIP 292 Gibraltar pound Gibraltar
GMD 270 Dalasi Gambia
GNF 324 Guinea Franc Guinea
GTQ 320 Quetzal Guatemala
GYD 328 Guyana Dollar Guyana
HKD 344 Hong Kong Dollar Hong Kong
HNL 340 Lempira Honduras
HRK 191 Croatian Kuna Croatia
HTG 332 Haiti Gourde Haiti
HUF 348 Forint Hungary
IDR 360 Rupiah Indonesia
ILS 376 New Israeli Shekel Israel
INR 356 Indian Rupee India
IQD 368 Iraqi Dinar Iraq
IRR 364 Iranian Rial Iran
ISK 352 Iceland Krona Iceland
JMD 388 Jamaican Dollar Jamaica
JOD 400 Jordanian Dinar Jordan
JPY 392 Japanese yen Japan
KES 404 Kenyan Shilling Kenya
KGS 417 Som Kyrgyzstan
KHR 116 Riel Cambodia
KMF 174 Comoro Franc Comoros
KPW 408 North Korean Won North Korea
KRW 410 South Korean Won South Korea
KWD 414 Kuwaiti Dinar Kuwait
KYD 136 Cayman Islands Dollar Cayman Islands
KZT 398 Tenge Kazakhstan
LAK 418 Kip Laos
LBP 422 Lebanese Pound Lebanon
LKR 144 Sri Lanka Rupee Sri Lanka
LRD 430 Liberian Dollar Liberia
LSL 426 Loti Lesotho
LTL 440 Lithuanian Litas Lithuania
LVL 428 Latvian Lats Latvia
LYD 434 Libyan Dinar Libya
MAD 504 Moroccan Dirham Morocco
MDL 498 Moldovan Leu Moldova
MGA 969 Malagasy Ariary Madagascar
MKD 807 Denar Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
MMK 104 Kyat Myanmar
MNT 496 Tugrik Mongolia
MOP 446 Pataca Macau
MRO 478 Ouguiya Mauritania
MTL 470 Maltese Lira Malta
MUR 480 Mauritius Rupee Mauritius
MVR 462 Rufiyaa Maldives
MWK 454 Kwacha Malawi
MXN 484 Mexican Peso Mexico
MYR 458 Malaysian Ringgit Malaysia
MZN 943 Metical Mozambique
NAD 516 Namibian Dollar Namibia
NGN 566 Naira Nigeria
NIO 558 Cordoba Oro Nicaragua
NOK 578 Norwegian Krone Norway
NPR 524 Nepalese Rupee Nepal
NZD 554 New Zealand Dollar New Zealand
OMR 512 Rial Omani Oman
PAB 590 Balboa Panama
PEN 604 Nuevo Sol Peru
PGK 598 Kina Papua New Guinea
PHP 608 Philippine Peso Philippines
PKR 586 Pakistan Rupee Pakistan
PLN 985 Zloty Poland
PYG 600 Guarani Paraguay
QAR 634 Qatari Rial Qatar
RON 946 Romanian New Leu Romania
RSD 941 Serbian Dinar Serbia
RUB 643 Russian Ruble Russia
RWF 646 Rwanda Franc Rwanda
SAR 682 Saudi Riyal Saudi Arabia
SBD 090 Solomon Islands Dollar Solomon Islands
SCR 690 Seychelles Rupee Seychelles
SDG 938 Sudanese Pound Sudan
SEK 752 Swedish Krona Sweden
SGD 702 Singapore Dollar Singapore
SHP 654 Saint Helena Pound Saint Helena
SKK 703 Slovak Koruna Slovakia
SLL 694 Leone Sierra Leone
SOS 706 Somali Shilling Somalia
SRD 968 Surinam Dollar Suriname
STD 678 Dobra Sao Tome and Príncipe
SYP 760 Syrian Pound Syria
SZL 748 Lilangeni Swaziland
THB 764 Baht Thailand
TJS 972 Somoni Tajikistan
TMM 795 Manat Turkmenistan
TND 788 Tunisian Dinar Tunisia
TOP 776 Pa'anga Tonga
TRY 949 New Turkish Lira Turkey
TTD 780 Trinidad and Tobago Dollar Trinidad and Tobago
TWD 901 New Taiwan Dollar Taiwan
TZS 834 Tanzanian Shilling Tanzania
UAH 980 Hryvnia Ukraine
UGX 800 Uganda Shilling Uganda
USD 840 US Dollar United States of America
UYU 858 Peso Uruguayo Uruguay
UZS 860 Uzbekistan Som Uzbekistan
VEB 862 Venezuelan bolívar Venezuela
VND 704 Vietnamese dong Vietnam
VUV 548 Vatu Vanuatu
WST 882 Samoan Tala Samoa
XAF 950 CFA Franc BEAC Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
XAG 961 Silver (one Troy ounce)  
XAU 959 Gold (one Troy ounce)  
XOF 952 CFA Franc BCEAO Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo
XPD 964 Palladium (one Troy ounce)  
XPF 953 CFP franc French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna
XPT 962 Platinum (one Troy ounce)  
YER 886 Yemeni Rial Yemen
ZAR 710 South African Rand South Africa
ZMK 894 Kwacha Zambia
ZWD 716 Zimbabwe Dollar Zimbabwe