Margin Makes Foreign Exchange Trading Exciting
One of the key factors leading to the popularity of foreign exchange trading is "margin". Without this factor, most forex trading would be well outside the realms of average investors. But what precisely is margin?
Margin allows traders in forex to leverage by controlling a large amount of currency with a proportionately small amount, or what is called a deposit. Essentially a margin account has to be opened through a foreign exchange broker and the trader is then able to control currency lots. Currency lots vary in size but they generally are around $100 000.
The leverage the trader gains from the margin account is expressed as a ratio. For instance a leverage ratio of 100:1 means the trader is able to have access to control over 100 x their deposit amount of forex assets. So essentially in a $100 000 standard forex lot with a 1% margin will require a deposit of $1000.
The trader is able to access large profits when trading on a margin, but this also means that losses can also be incurred. Money likes speed so although the risk of losses exists, safeguards are generally put in place to limit these losses. A broker will generally terminate any transaction before it goes above the deposit margin, but in some instance more than the initial deposit may be lost.
Cash is traded in far larger units than foreign exchange. A good example of this is the USD, this currency trades down to 4 decimal places. In other words, what might be $1.35 in normal currency; in forex would be $1.3576. The smallest currency exchange unit is the pip. In a $100 000 lot the pip equals $10. and while $10 might have some meaning to a tourist from the US going on holiday, it has little meaning to an investor. So if the currency of exchange increases say to $1.457, it would either mean a loss or profit of $10. - 23208
Margin allows traders in forex to leverage by controlling a large amount of currency with a proportionately small amount, or what is called a deposit. Essentially a margin account has to be opened through a foreign exchange broker and the trader is then able to control currency lots. Currency lots vary in size but they generally are around $100 000.
The leverage the trader gains from the margin account is expressed as a ratio. For instance a leverage ratio of 100:1 means the trader is able to have access to control over 100 x their deposit amount of forex assets. So essentially in a $100 000 standard forex lot with a 1% margin will require a deposit of $1000.
The trader is able to access large profits when trading on a margin, but this also means that losses can also be incurred. Money likes speed so although the risk of losses exists, safeguards are generally put in place to limit these losses. A broker will generally terminate any transaction before it goes above the deposit margin, but in some instance more than the initial deposit may be lost.
Cash is traded in far larger units than foreign exchange. A good example of this is the USD, this currency trades down to 4 decimal places. In other words, what might be $1.35 in normal currency; in forex would be $1.3576. The smallest currency exchange unit is the pip. In a $100 000 lot the pip equals $10. and while $10 might have some meaning to a tourist from the US going on holiday, it has little meaning to an investor. So if the currency of exchange increases say to $1.457, it would either mean a loss or profit of $10. - 23208
About the Author:
Learn more about foreign exchange trading. Stop by John Eather's site where you can find out all about forex trading systems and what it can do for you.
posted by X - Men @ 3:00 AM
0 Comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home