What Is Forex Market?

Forex market is the largest financial market in the world, with a volume over $1.95 trillion a day. "Forex" comes from words "Foreign Exchange". Forex is also referred to as "FX" or "Spot FX" market. I'm sure you know what foreign exchange means. If not, well, in foreign exchange offices you can change currencies (if you're going on a trip abroad, you need foreign currencies, right?).

Forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currencies are traded through a broker or dealer and are traded in pairs; for example the European euro and the US dollar (EUR/USD) or the British pound and the Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY).

So how do you make money with changing currencies? Let's say you see that EUR/USD current price is $1.2600. This means that you have to pay exactly $1.2600 to buy 1 EUR.

Let's then make a deal and buy some euros, at the same time selling dollars. If you bought some euros, you expect their price to raise, so you could sell them with a higher price than you bought them. As expecting the euro price to raise against the dollar, you're also expecting the dollar to go cheaper against the euro.

This means you have to give more and more dollars to get 1 euro. If the dollar goes cheaper, euro goes more valued. So now the EUR/USD price is $1.2650. You then sell euros, at the same time buying dollars. Since you bought cheaper euros and now you're selling more expensive euros, you'll get a profit from that.

Unlike other financial markets like the New York Stock Exchange, the Forex spot market has neither a physical location nor a central exchange. The Forex market is considered an Over-the-Counter (OTC) or 'Interbank' market, due to the fact that the entire market is run electronically, within a network of banks, continuously over a 24-hour period.

A properly trained Forex trader can potentially earn BIG PROFITS in every single month, week, or day! (Of course a poorly trained Forex trader can suffer big losses as well.)

All you need to get started is a computer, a high-speed Internet connection (Why? the currencies' prices are changing constantly and you need to keep up with them) and a trading software.

A good website for a beginner is BabyPips.com. BabyPips.com was created to introduce beginning traders to all the essential aspects of foreign exchange in a fun and easy-to-understand manner. Have fun!