When compared to one another, the national currencies of other nations can either appreciate or depreciate. Forex trading is all about taking advantage of opportunities to generate gains and these relative price movements up and down present traders with such opportunities. Trading foreign exchange, in contrast to the operation of other securities such as equities, includes the use of currency pairings such as JPY/GBP (which represents the Japanese Yen in comparison to the British Pound) and EUR/USD (which represents the Euro in comparison to the United States Dollar) (which represents the euro against the US dollar). Visit MultiBank Group
Therefore, forex trading consists of nothing more than exchanging one currency for another in the hope of realizing a profit if the value of the currency you sold increases from the currency you acquired. If you are seeking to invest in the foreign exchange market, you need to have a fundamental understanding of foreign exchange (forex).
Putting the facts and figures of forex trading into perspective
- If you are in the process of conducting research on the financial markets, then you should take into consideration the following 15 crucial facts and data regarding forex.
- The foreign exchange (forex) market is currently estimated to be worth over $2.4 quadrillion, making it the largest financial market in the world.
- According to data collected from a variety of sources in 2019, the daily turnover on the foreign exchange market is approximately $6.6 trillion.
- On the foreign exchange market at this very moment, 170 different currencies are being traded with one another.
- Because 85% of traders use it, MT4 is the most popular and most widely used trading platform. MT5, which comes in at number two on this list, is the trading platform that 6% of all traders use.
- The United States dollar is the most actively traded currency on the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, accounting for more than 88 percent of all trades conducted worldwide. The Japanese yen is the most important currency, followed by the British pound, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, and finally the Swiss franc in that order. The Euro is the second most important currency.
- The foreign exchange market is open around the clock, all week long, from 5 PM Sunday Eastern Standard Time to 4 PM Friday Eastern Standard Time. The trading, on the other hand, takes place in several different marketplaces across a number of different time zones during four primary sessions (also called segments).
- Major currency pairs are those that see the largest volume of trade and are therefore given that name. There are a total of seven different currency pairs here, and each of them uses the dollar as either a quotation or a base. Among these are the following currency pairs: AUD/USD, USD/CAD, NZD/USD, USD/JPY, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF.
- The majors are responsible for more than 67 percent of the daily trading volume that takes place in the foreign exchange market.
- Minor currency pairs are those that do not include the US dollar in either the quote or the base of their exchange rate. Some of these are the EUR/NZD, the EUR/GBP, the GBP/JPY, the GBP/AUD, and the CAD/JPY pairs, among others.
- There are over 13.9 million people actively trading foreign exchange online across the world. Europe is home to 3.1 million business owners and merchants, whereas North America is home to 1.6 million, and Asia is home to 4.6 million.
- On average, 9-20 deals are opened by the 41% of traders that participate in financial markets each month.
- 14% of traders devote at least 6 hours per day to forex trading, while 45% devote anywhere from 1-2 hours per day to trading online.
- IC Markets, which is headquartered in Australia, is the most prominent foreign exchange (Forex) broker in the entire world. Every day, this broker handles an average of 18.9 billion dollars’ worth of trading volume.
- Only seven percent of all forex traders have been involved in the market continuously for more than ten years. 39% of traders have been in the industry for one to three years, 23% of traders have been involved in the market for less than a year, and 23% of traders have been involved in the market for four to nine years.
- The international foreign exchange trading environment is not dominated by any one exchange market. Instead, the foreign currency market is comprised of interconnected exchanges and brokers, and the hours during which the markets are most actively trading are time-sensitive and dependent on the local time zone. Because these time zones always overlap, each region has its own official trading session at the following times: New York from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Standard Time, Tokyo from 7 PM to 4 AM Eastern Standard Time, Sydney from 4 PM to 1 AM Eastern Standard Time, and London from 2 AM to 11 AM Eastern Standard Time.
The Top Ten Interesting Facts Regarding Foreign Exchange Trading and Investment
- Because they originated at a time in Japan when there was constant warfare between feudal lords, most of the candlestick chart terms that are used today have connection to the military.
- The US dollar is involved in almost all the world’s foreign exchange transactions.
- The foreign exchange market is typically pictured as an old-fashioned trading floor in people’s minds. However, most of the business is conducted over the internet.
- London, New York City, and Singapore are the three most important financial centers for currency trading around the world.
- The distinctive shade of green that the United States dollar was printed in during the time of the American Civil War is what gave rise to another nickname for the currency: the Greenback.
- If you’ve ever heard of the term “spot trading,” it refers to the practice of quickly swapping different currencies while they are still in circulation.
- In the past, only large institutions and banks that satisfied certain liquidity requirements were allowed to exchange foreign currency. But all of that has changed now that practically anyone may trade foreign exchange with lesser sums of money.
- BULLS and BEARS are the terms used to describe the two types of forex traders. The bears anticipate that the market will move lower, while the bulls anticipate that it will move higher.
- Because most traders are not necessarily exchanging real money, the foreign exchange market is predominately driven by speculation.
- Because of the historical connection between the financial markets in London and New York City via a significant transatlantic cable, the currency pair known as the CABLE is commonly referred to by that name. That was before the time when communications via fibre optics and satellites were developed.