Forex for Beginners

Category: Forex Trading

Forex Trading for Beginners

One of the favorite market of every capital investor is the Foreign Exchange Market. The Foreign Exchange Market which is also called as the Forex or the Fx market is a huge financial market with daily market volumes of $3-4 trillion. The Forex market is the larger and more liquid financial market in the world.

Forex Market History

The Forex Market began during the 1970s after 30 years of government restrictions regarding the foreign exchange transactions. The Forex market begun after the end of Bretton Woods Agreement which actually became a global monetary system for 30 years. The Forex market was born as the world's major countries gradually switched from fixed currency rates (Bretton Woods) to floating exchange rates.

Forex Market Characteristics

1) Continuous 24-hour operation, 5 days per week (Operating from Sunday 20:15 GMT to Friday 22:00 GMT

2) Large size and enormous liquidity

3) Wide geographical distribution

4) Low margin requirements and high capital leverage

Forex Market Participants

Many different types of investors are operating within the Forex Market:

1) Central Banks

2) Commercial Banks

3) Global Trade Companies

4) Forex Brokers

5) Institutional Investors

6) Retail Traders

Forex Market Trading Sessions

There are three main Forex sessions for the winter time zone and three for the summer time zone:

Forex Time Zone	GMT (open-close)	EST (open-close)
Winter Time Zone (October to April)
New York	1:00 PM 10:00 PM	8:00 AM 5:00 PM
London	8:00 AM 5:00 PM	3:00 AM 12:00 PM
Tokyo	12:00 AM 9:00 AM	7:00 PM 4:00 AM
Summer Time Zone (April to October)
New York	12:00 PM 9:00 PM	8:00 AM 5:00 PM
London	7:00 AM 4:00 PM	3:00 AM 12:00 PM
Tokyo	12:00 AM 9:00 AM	8:00 PM 5:00 AM