What is Forex?

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Forex refers to foreign exchange, and it is the transaction whereby one currency is exchanged for another. There are many reasons forex trades occur, including enabling international trading, commercial purposes, and tourism. Forex is traded on the foreign exchange market, which is open for currency trade for 24 hours, five days a week. The FX market is used by businesses, hedge funds, banks, investment firms, and retailers.

Currently, forex is the largest financial market worldwide, and unlike some of the major markets, you don’t need deep pockets to start investing. Although forex may sound complex, you may have done it at some point unknowingly. For example, if you have gone on holiday abroad and had to change your country’s currency for the local currency, that is forex exchange.

Forex trading 

Forex trading is an investment in forex that involves trading one currency for another. The primary goal of forex trading is successfully predicting whether one currency’s value will increase or decrease against another. So, a forex trader might buy one currency today, anticipating that its value will hike tomorrow when he can sell it at a profit.

Each tradeable currency in FX trading has a code to traders to identify it easily. For instance, the code for the US dollar is USD, and the Japanese Yen is JPY. The value of currencies in the forex market change often, and these changes are due to several factors such as:

  • Inflation
  • Political events
  • Interest rates
  • Supply and demand
  • Natural calamities

Types of forex markets

The forex market, also called the foreign exchange market, is the global marketplace where currencies are traded. It is decentralized so that you can buy and sell forex. Here are some types of foreign exchange markets.

1. Futures market

In the futures market, transactions use future distribution and payment at a predetermined exchange rate, called the future rate. Agreements and transactions are more formal to ensure that the terms are set in stone and cannot be changed. Traders conducting most of the transactions enjoy consistent returns on their investments, so most regular traders prefer it.

2. The Spot Market

Transactions in the spot market involve currency pairs, which occur quickly and smoothly. These transactions involve instant payment at the spot rate, the prevailing exchange rate. Traders in the spot market are not exposed to the market’s uncertainty resulting in increases and decreases in the price between trade and agreement.

3. Swap Market

In a swap transaction, two investors simultaneously borrow and lend two kinds of currencies. In this scenario, one of the investors borrows one currency and then pays the second investor in the form of another currency. The purpose of this transaction is to pay off obligations while excluding the forex risk.

4. Forward Market

Transactions in the forward market are similar to those in the future market. However, in this market, parties agree on terms of transactions but these can be renegotiated and altered to suit the needs of involved parties. It is more flexible compared to the futures market.

Conclusions

The forex market enables fast and easy conversion of currency denominations, and above are four types of markets. If you want to become a trader, do your research, open an account and start investing. Globalization has caused an increase in the volume of transactions annually, and you can profit from it.

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