Forex Trading Times

Knowing what the best times to trade Forex are is a crucial component to effective and efficient Forex trading. During the trading week the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, but just because it is open around the clock does not mean prices are always moving in a way that makes a particular market worth trading. Money is made in the Forex market when the market is volatile and moving, not when the market is calm and relatively quiet.

So, as a Forex trader you need to know when the most active Forex trading times are, as this will aid you greatly in the timing of both your entries and your exits as you trade the markets. The two most active Forex trading sessions are the London session and the New York session, during these sessions price action provides the best trading environment. The Asian trading session is often less volatile and thus less likely to result in major moves within the various Forex pairs.

The Forex market contains three distinct trading sessions; trading starts in Australia and Asia, and moves around the globe into Europe and finally ending the day in North America as trading closes each day in New York. The various Forex trading hours are as follows:

Asian trading session (including Australia and New Zealand): the Asian trading session opens at 6:00pm EST and closes at 4:00am EST

London trading session: the London trading session opens at 3:00am EST and closes at 12:00pm EST.

New York trading session: the New York trading session opens at 8:00am EST and closes at 5:00pm EST.

As you can see from the above list of times to trade Forex, there are periods each day where the sessions over-lap each other. It is within these periods when volume and volatility typically rise to peak levels. The London and New York trading sessions over-lap between 8am and 12pm EST, this is typically considered the best time to trade Forex. The reason it is considered the best time to trade is because this is when the worlds two most active trading centers cross; as London trading comes to an end, New York trading is opening, and they are both open at the same time for 4 hours each trading day. As a result, many traders strictly trade within this 4 hour window because it generally brings the best liquidity and volatility.

Beyond knowing the best Forex trading times, it also helps to know which currency pairs to trade. Generally speaking, the major Forex currency pairs are the best to trade, the reason they are widely considered to be the best Forex pairs to trade is mainly because they offer the smallest spreads and highest liquidity. This means you pay smaller fees to trade the majors and they move in a safer manner than the exotic currency pairs, which can tend to jump around and move a relatively illogical way. In the end, make sure you know the best times to trade Forex and the best Forex pairs to trade; these are some of the basics of learning to trade Forex.

Is Online Forex Trading A Viable Way To Make A Living

With the global recession now in full swing, many people are looking to forex trading as a possible way to earn an income, now that they have been down-sized from their previous jobs. But can trading currency markets online really take the place of a regular job?

Currencies around the world are traded by brokers in a 24-hour cash market and the largest in the world known as the Forex Market. The buying and selling of foreign currencies simultaneously from local to global cash market is called the Foreign Exchange or Forex trading. All investments of the traders are based on a real-time movement of the foreign currency exchange in the market. Forex trading is now becoming one of the most favorite investment methods for individuals and some businesses today.

Forex trading is a very popular money making business. The benefits of this are the 24 hours markets, and their high liquidity; which means that it is possible to move a large sum of money in and out of a given currency without moving the price much, if at all. Also, most currencies are easy to trade. The opportunity to profit basically comes from the unpredictability of the rising and falling nature of prices in the Forex markets.

The goal of investors in Forex trading is to be able to profit from the price movements, either for the long or short-term, of the foreign currency markets. Traders and investors either buy low in order to sell out at higher prices for a profit, or else they sell high in order to buy back at a lower price, again for a profit.

Trading can be done over the telephone or on electronic networks. This is called Forex online or online currency trading. New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Sydney, and London are the main centers for trading. Each country has a different time zone, which means that there exists a 24-hour Forex market around the world for as long as there is an open market (i.e. it is closed on weekends).

Banks, brokers, and financial firms were generally the big professional players in foreign exchange. In the past, Forex was completely monopolized by them but now even individual investors, provided that they have a thorough knowledge of trading currency markets, can also profit. Truly, today almost anyone can engage in these potentially high-profit investments.

Online trading is itself a huge breakthrough for foreign currency trading. The technological advancement now gives the small and medium investors the chance to profit and compete with those big investors. Everyone has essentially the same opportunity to participate in trading the currency markets. Anyone who wishes to trade simply has to set up a trading account with a reliable online broker, and once they are approved for trading, they can start immediately. Indeed, you are not limited to where you can do it; you can trade from a laptop while on vacation. Nor do you even need a large sum of money for starting capital; you can start with just the minimum specified by the broker needed for opening an account.

In summary, Forex trading is now easy to access and take part in and provides a viable way for individuals to run a profitable business from home. However, as always, extremely thorough preparation, planning, research, mental discipline and self-control, combined with a proven profitable trading plan, are absolutely essential if you ever hope to make a success of online forex trading.

Earn Profits From Your Investments By Trading In Forex

Trading in forex or foreign exchange market is done through currencies. One currency is traded against the other. Profit or loss is measured with respect to the fluctuations in the price of one currency against the other.

Investments made in foreign exchange trading are considered to be extremely profitable because their supply and demand fundamentals are more predictable due to their macro-economic nature. Till 1995, this form of trading was only open to the multinational corporations and banks. However, the growth of Internet and the availability of trading resources have allowed general investors to invest here.

Unlike stock or share markets, foreign exchange trading is conducted electronically. There is no central location from where the trading is controlled. This makes it possible for anyone from any part of the world to trade round the clock, for five and a half days a week. Forex market is considered to be the most liquid and largest financial markets.

Of course, this is not too difficult to understand considering the importance the currency trading has in international financial scenario. According to a report published not too long ago, an average of U.S. $2,000 billion is traded per day. Investments are made and trade occurs through a vast network of computers based in the important financial centers of the world including London, Zurich, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Paris and Sydney.

There can be three categories of forex traders individuals, financial institutions and corporations and they trade in either spot, forward or futures market. Before the advent of electronic trading, futures used to have great popularity among the individual traders. At present, however, it is the spot market that has grabbed the spotlight away. The institutions and corporations have taken to the forwards and futures for making investments.

A brokerage firm will allow their clients to invest in forex market by opening a trading account, a demo account or a PAMM account. Noteworthy among these three is the PAMM account or Percent Allocation Management Module, which is considered to be the most profitable and safest accounts to start trading in. A demo account will help a new trader to acquire the skills of forex trading in risk-free, real market conditions.

If you agree to trade in currencies through a PAMM account, then you can choose either a single or more than one manager to trade in this account. This choice will depend mostly on the managers profit standing, stability in operations and how much profit they charge. After the trade is complete and profits attained, the investor gets his share and the manager settles the account. Hence investments made through a PAMM account is considered to be more stable and assured way to earn profit.

The first and most important step in forex trading is to find the right broker who will be able to guide you through and ensure that your investments are safe and profitable. Understanding the basics of trading in currencies will help you to decide your terms. You will be better positioned to deal with brokers once you are aware of the intricacies of this market.