What is Forex?

Forex, or Foreign Exchange, is the simultaneous buying of one currency while selling for another. This market of exchange has more buyers and sellers and daily volume than any other in the world. Taking place in the major financial institutions across the globe, the forex market is open 24-hours a day.

Buying/Selling

In the forex market currencies are always priced in pairs; therefore all trades result in the simultaneous buying of one currency and the selling of another. The objective of currency trading is to buy the currency that increases in value relative to the one you sold. If you have bought a currency and the price appreciates in value, then you must sell the currency back in order to lock in the profit.

Quoting Conventions

Currencies are quoted in pairs. The first listed currency is known as the base currency, while the second is called the counter or quote currency. In the wholesale market, currencies are quoted using five significant numbers, with the last placeholder called a point or a pip.

Like all financial products, FX quotes include a "bid" and "ask". By quoting both the bid and ask in real time, GFM ensures that traders always receive a fair price on all transactions. As in any traded instrument, there is an immediate cost in establishing a position. For example, USD/JPY may bid at 131.40 and ask at 131.45, this five-pip spread defines the trader’s cost, which can be recovered with a favorable currency move in the market.

Margin

The margin deposit is not a down payment on a purchase of equity, as many perceive margins to be in the stock markets. Rather, the margin is a performance bond, or good faith deposit, to ensure against trading losses. The margin requirement allows traders to hold a position much larger than the account value. GFM’ s online trading platform has margin management capabilities, which allow for this high leverage.

In the event that funds in the account fall below margin requirements, the GFM Dealing Desk will close all open positions. This prevents clients' accounts from falling into a negative balance, even in a highly volatile, fast moving market.

Rollover

For positions open at 5pm EST, there is a daily rollover interest rate a trader either pays or earns, depending on your established margin and position in the market. If you do not want to earn or pay interest on your positions, simply make sure it is closed at 5pm EST, the established end of the market day.