Learn Forex Market

Forex market - the interbank international exchange market. Banks of the different countries are trading among themselves in currencies of the different countries. But the total volume of these operations is huge, in day he exceeds 3 billion US dollars! It also is Forex market! Forex market reminds the Internet - he belongs to nobody, nobody can operate it.

Exchange-traded Forex futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts. Forex futures volume has grown rapidly in recent years, but only accounts for about 7% of the total foreign exchange market volume, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe (5/5/06, p. 20).

The foreign exchange (currency, or Forex, or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. Retail traders (small speculators) are a small part of this market. They may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks and may be targets of Forex scams.

Market size and liquidity

The foreign exchange market is unique because of the following featuries:

- trading volume,

- the extreme liquidity,

- the large number of, and variety of, traders,

- geographical dispersion,

- long trading hours - 24 hours a day (except on weekends).

- the variety of factors that affect exchange rates,

Average daily international foreign exchange trading volume was $1.9 trillion in April 2004 according to the BIS study Triennial Central Bank Survey 2004

- $600 billion spot

- $1,300 billion in derivatives, ie

- $200 billion in outright forwards

- $1,000 billion in Forex swaps

- $100 billion in FX options.

There is little or no 'inside information' in the foreign exchange markets. Exchange rate fluctuations are usually caused by actual monetary flows as well as by expectations of changes in monetary flows caused by changes in GDP growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and trade deficits or surpluses, and other macroeconomic conditions. Major news is released publicly, often on scheduled dates, so many people have access to the same news at the same time.

On the spot market, according to the BIS study, the most heavily traded products were:

- EUR/USD - 28 %

- USD/JPY - 17 %

- GBP/USD (also called cable) - 14 %

and the US currency was involved in 89% of transactions, followed by the euro (37%), the yen (20%) and sterling (17%). (Note that volume percentages should add up to 200% - 100% for all the sellers, and 100% for all the buyers). Although trading in the euro has grown considerably since the currency's creation in January 1999, the foreign exchange market is thus still largely dollar-centered. For instance, trading the euro versus a non-European currency ZZZ will usually involve two trades: EUR/USD and USD/ZZZ. The only exception to this is EUR/JPY, which is an established traded currency pair in the interbank spot market.

The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns. Traders can react to news when it breaks, rather than waiting for the market to open.