The Forex (Foreign Exchange in English, or “foreign exchange market”) is the market “OTC” (that is to say between operators that aren’t subject to market “regulated”) which traded currencies all over the world between them, currencies quoted against one another in the form of parity .
These days, the Forex is the biggest monetary market across the globe, the average daily number of transactions (about 4000 billion dollars in April 2010) which represents three times the equity markets and futures (futures markets) put together. Is being developed since the abandonment of fixed exchange rates of various currencies them (as well as the reference to the gold standard) in 1974, as Forex market ascertains the development of the parity of all pairs (or “cross”) whose currency is the regime of floating exchange rates.
One of the most traded currencies around the world are Dollar (USD 43% of sales and purchases), the Euro (EUR: 19%), the Japanese Yen (JPY 8.5%), the British Pound (GBP 7.5%), the Swiss Franc (CHF: 3.5%), the Australian Dollar (AUD) Canadian Dollar (CAD). Currency called “secondary” and with exchange rate regimes “linked” or “fixed” (the currency of Argentina for example a fixed parity with the dollar, as the Franc CFA West Africa with the Euro and the Chinese Yuan to a basket of currencies dominated by “Dollar”) are subject to little exchange on Forex.
Forex key stakeholders are:
Banks and financial companies that offer 50% of transactions through proposals for “market makers,” giving a price at any time purchaser (“bid”) and ask price (“ask”), the difference (the “spread” ) is the profit;
Large firms who wish the entire hedge against currency risk in terms of their international activities (but multinationals have also created their own trading floors instantly involved in Forex risky purposes);
The central banks involved sometimes the market (selling or buying massively currency) to be able to regulate and maintain a specific monetary policy : the European Central Bank will certainly be able to sell Euros when it wishes to decrease this currency;
Institutional traders (hedge funds, etc.). Included both cover portfolios stocks or bonds in an optical speculative direct as much as 30% of Forex transactions;
People whose investments are highly developed thru trading “on line” and represent about 5% of forex transactions.
A position on the Forex includes selling one currency and purchasing another. Buy EUR / USD means for an investor to purchase Euro and then sell dollar .
If a trader expects an increase of value of EUR / USD (appreciation of the Euro against the dollar) and the euro / dollar actually goes to EUR / USD = 1.3000 to EUR / USD = 1.3050, 10,000 euros will likely be bought permitted the trader to earn 50 Dollars.
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