The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "FOREX" market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of approximately $1.5 trillion. Foreign Exchange is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. The world's currencies are on a floating exchange rate and are always traded in pairs, for example EUR/USD or USD/JPY
Why haven't I heard of Foreign Exchange?The answer is simple: the currency market was simply financially inaccessible to the general population of investors and traders, and the minimum account requirements were beyond the resources of the average investor. Since then, the situation has changed dramatically. Now under new bank regulations, instead of a minimum investment of $200K, accounts can be opened for $10 - $50K.
Who are the participants in the FOREX Market?
The FOREX market is called an 'Interbank' market due to the fact that historically it has been dominated by banks, including central banks, commercial banks, and investment banks. However, the percentage of other market participants is rapidly growing, and now includes large multinational corporations, global money managers, registered dealers, international money brokers, futures and options traders, and private speculators.
When is the FOREX market open for trading?
A true 24-hour market begins at 7 p.m. Sunday evening through 3 p.m. Friday EST. FOREX trading begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins in each financial center, first to Tokyo, then London, and New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night.
