To make a profit, in the FOREX, a trader can enter the market as a *buy position* (known as going "long") or a *sell position*(known as going "short").
For discussion, let's assume you've been studying the EURO.
Your trading methods, rules, strategies, etc., tell you that prices will rise during a particular timeframe. So you buy the EUR/USD pair (or, technically, you will simultaneously buy euros, the base currency, and sell dollars).
You open up your handy trading station software (provided to you for free by the online broker), which resides on your desktop, and you see that the EUR/USD pair is trading at:
>
REMEMBER: the quote to the left of the / (1.3242) refers to the bid or "sell" price (what you obtain in USD when you sell EUR). The quote to the right of the / (1.3245) is used to obtain the ask or "buy" price (what you have to pay in USD if you buy EUR).
So, since you believe that the market price for the EUR/USD pair will go higher, you will enter a *buy position* in the market. For simplicities sake, let's say you bought one lot at 1.3245. As long as you sell back the pair at a higher price, then you make money.
But, no worries. This seemingly elaborate process is handled, and even calculated for you, via the broker's software mentioned above. The chart software and the quote board are in agreement with all sides of the currencies.
To illustrate a typical FX SELL trade, consider this scenario involving the USD/JPY currency pair:
REMEMBER ~ Selling ("going short") the currency pair implies selling the first, base currency, and buying the second, quote currency. You sell the currency pair if you believe the base currency (USD) will go down relative to the quote currency (JPY), or equivalently, that the quote currency (JPY) will go up relative to the base currency (USD).
NOTE: while the Profit Calculations, on the Short-sell trade scenario below, may seem somewhat complicated if you've never been in the FOREX market before, trust us when we say, "this process is nearly seamless through your broker trade station (software). We're just showing you this thought-process below so you can SEE how a PROFIT occurs even when
SELLING a currency pair.
The current bid/ask price for USD/JPY is 105.26/105.30, meaning you can buy $1 US for 105.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 105.26 YEN.
Suppose you decide that the US Dollar (USD) is overvalued against the YEN (JPY). To execute this strategy, you would sell Dollars (simultaneously buying YEN), and then wait for the exchange rate to rise.
So you make the trade: selling US $100,000 and purchasing 10,526,000 YEN. (Remember, at 1% margin, your initial margin deposit would be $1,000.)
As you expected, USD/JPY falls to 104.26/104.30, meaning you can now buy $1 US for $104.30 Japanese YEN or sell $1 US for 104.26
Since you're short dollars (and are long YEN), you must now buy dollars and sell back the YEN to realize any profit.
You buy US $100,000 at the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30, and receive 10,430,000 YEN. Since you originally bought(paid for) 10,526,000 YEN, your profit is 96,000 YEN.
To calculate your P&L in terms of US dollars, simply divide 96,000 by the current USD/JPY rate of 104.30.
Total profit = US $920.42
Omar Vargas is a freelance writer with articles published in a number of places. You can learn more about Forex trading and its great advantages over other kind of business at this useful website: http://www.1-forex.com
Many Americans are interested in getting involved in forex trading.... Read More
Are you thinking of entering the fast-paced world of day... Read More
The foreign exchange currency market is the largest market in... Read More
The Forex Market-What, When and Why?Forex, FX and the Forex... Read More
Since the US dollar is the centerpiece of the market,... Read More
The investor in the currency market takes for granted that... Read More
The Foreign Exchange Market ? better known as FOREX -... Read More
When day trading the SP and Nasdaq futures, do you... Read More
Could it be possible that you are staring right into... Read More
What is Forex Trading?Forex, or Foreign Exchange, is the simultaneous... Read More
What Is Commodity Trading?Commodity futures markets allow commercial producers and... Read More
My father, who owns a small parts store and garage... Read More
The following are some of the most common types of... Read More
"FX" is an abbreviation of "forex" or "foreign exchange." Foreign... Read More
Which way will the forex market move? Do you just... Read More
Most traders use a FOREX broker to handle their transactions.... Read More
One can learn forex trading as easily as one would... Read More
Over the past several years, the popularity of online currency... Read More
The essence of the FX2u Forex strategy is that it... Read More
For the first time in several years the U.S. dollar... Read More
International commerce has rapidly increased as the internet has provided... Read More
Forex made easy is as simple as you would want... Read More
The first and perhaps most important "secret" is to realize... Read More
An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail... Read More
You know the old joke:"How do you make a million... Read More
The business world is a complex web of supply and... Read More
What are Forex signals? Forex signals are paid services offered... Read More
ISO 4217 is an international standard describing three letter codes... Read More
The simplest definition of currency trading is the practice of... Read More
There are many types of investment methodology out there. All... Read More
The foreign exchange currency market is the largest market in... Read More
The Foreign Exchange Market ? better known as FOREX -... Read More
Forex made easy is as simple as you would want... Read More
Since the US dollar is the centerpiece of the market,... Read More
What Is Online Futures Trading?A futures contract is an agreement... Read More
Long TermLong term traders will work from end of day... Read More
IntroductionThe exchange rate refers to the value of the US... Read More
For the first time in several years the U.S. dollar... Read More
If you want to be a successful trader, you must... Read More
To make a profit, in the FOREX, a trader can... Read More
"Is it important to be creative in your trading?"I'm not... Read More
We all know when you go on a trip to... Read More
Success in any profession can be broken down into a... Read More
There is an old saying that the market is driven... Read More
Cut your losses short and let your profits run. This... Read More
What Is Commodity Trading?Commodity futures markets allow commercial producers and... Read More
What is Forex Trading?Forex, or Foreign Exchange, is the simultaneous... Read More
An online forex broker is a firm that facilitates retail... Read More
To trade on the forex market, the largest financial market... Read More
As 90-95% of new forex traders lose money within the... Read More
|