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Archive for November 11th, 2006

7 Ways to formulate Forex Trading Strategy

Foreign Exchange market is influenced by several market and economic conditions, which makes it a complex processes. Its trading complexity is managed by employing a systematic approach derived from various aspects of international business, economics, geopolitics, mathematics and behavioral science.

Winning in forex market requires an efficient and effective strategy. Here are 7 guidelines to formulate your strategies as a successful forex trader.

1. Research and Analysis

Research and analysis are the key and fundamental ingredients of successful forex trader. Continuously research and analyze on important economic events, price movements, trends, and general market developments that impact currency pairs. You should incorporate both technical and fundamental analysis tools to analyze the market that would help you make trading decisions.

Technical tools will help you determine price action of the market, while fundamental analysis helps you predict price action and market trend s by analyzing economic indicators, government policy, interest rate decisions and others.

2. Make a plan ? Work a plan

One way of managing your trading activities is by working based on plan .Trading Plan should consist of why you enter, stop loss price and profit taking level.

3. Control Risk

As with every other trading, forex trading has its own risk. Achieving success in foreign trading market requires managing and controlling these risks.

4. Properly apply money Management techniques

Management in forex market requires proper capital management. Do not trade more than 10% of your deposit in a single trade. For example, if your total deposit is $100, 000 you should limit every trade to not more than $10,000. This would help you secure your account under worst market conditions.

5. Track your Trading Activities

Track every trading activities so that you will be able improve your performance. When you buy a currency, write down why you buy and your feelings at the same time. You do same when you sell. Analyze and write down the mistakes you have made, as well as things you have done right. By referring your trading journal, you learn from your past mistakes. Keep tracking your records and improve your performance accordingly.

6. Control your positions

The numbers of positions you hold at a time is very important to control you trading activity. There fore, it is important that to should limit the number of positions you hold at same time in between 3 to 5. It I always recommended to hold the minimal amount possible, so that you will be able to control you performance.

7. Avoid Greed and Fear

You should never allow fear and greed influence your trade, because if you take emotional measures in your forex trading activities, you will badly lose your account. Be advised that, forex trading has its own process. You should avoid fear and Greed, and trade based on research and analyses of market trends.

Summary

You should properly implement the following guidelines in your daily trading activities. If you follow the guidelines explained above and formulate your trading strategies based on these bases, you will attain success in forex trading market.

Posted on 11th November 2006
Under: Forex | 3 Comments »

Calculating Profit and Loss in Foreign Currency Trading

The foreign exchange market, or Forex market, is an around-the-clock cash market where the currencies of nations are bought and sold. Forex trading is always done in currency pairs. For example, you buy Euros, paying with U.S. Dollars, or you sell Canadian Dollars for Japanese Yen. The value of your Forex investment increases or decreases because of changes in the currency exchange rate or Forex rate. These changes can occur at any time, and often result from economic and political events. Using a hypothetical Forex investment, this article shows you how to calculate profit and loss in Forex trading.

To understand how the exchange rate can affect the value of your Forex investment, you need to learn how to read a Forex quote. Forex quotes are expressed in pairs and usually in five-digit numbers. In the following example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar (USD) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD). The Forex quote, USD/CAD = 170.50, means that one U.S. Dollar is equal to 170.50 Canadian Dollars. The currency to the left of the “/” (USD in this example) is referred to as base currency and its value is always 1. The currency to the right of the “/” (CAD in this example) is referred to as the counter currency. In this example, one USD can buy 170.50 CAD, because it is the stronger of the two currencies. The U.S. Dollar is regarded as the central currency of the Forex market, and it is always treated as the base currency in any Forex quote where it is one of the pairs.

Let’s go now to our hypothetical Forex investment to show how you can profit or come up short in Forex trading. In this example, your pair of currencies are the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. The Forex rate of EUR/USD on August 26, 2003 was 1.0857, which means that one U.S. Dollar was equal to 1.0857 Euros, and was the weaker of the two currencies. If you had bought 1,000 Euros on that date, you would have paid $1,085.70.

One year later, the Forex rate of EUR/USD was 1.2083, which means that the value of the Euro increased in relation to the USD. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros one year later, you would have received $1,208.30, which is $122.60 more than what you had started with one year earlier.

Conversely, if the Forex rate one year later had been EUR/USD = 1.0576, the value of the Euro would have weakened in relation to the U.S. Dollar. If you had sold the 1,000 Euros at this Forex rate, you would have received $1,057.60, which is $28.10 less than what you had started out with one year earlier.

As with stocks and mutual funds, there is risk in Forex trading. The risk results from fluctuations in the currency exchange market. Investments with a low level of risk (for example, long-term government bonds) often have a low return. Investments with a higher level of risk (for example, Forex trading) can have a higher return. To achieve your short-term and long-term financial goals, you need to balance security and risk to the comfort level that works best for you.

Posted on 11th November 2006
Under: Forex | 4 Comments »