Forex
Forex is short for - Foreign Exchange Markets for the trading of currencies. When you hear about the dollar falling or rising against the euro, then this is what you will be trading - these movements that occur each and every day.
Features
- Huge daily volume, around $3.98 Trillion
- Continuous operation 24/7, except for weekends
- Use of leverage for the retail trader (you)
- Bid / Ask spread is the only cost
- Go Long or Short anytime
Instrument
The instrument you will trade is the EUR/USD cross-pair. This is the largest component of the Forex market and the daily fluctuations are great. The spreads are also the lowest of all cross-pairs.
Lot Sizes
You can begin with 'mini' then progress to 'standard' as you grow.
- Mini Lots
Each minimum market move (pip) is worth $1.00 per lot traded
- Standard Lots
Here, each pip is worth $10 per lot traded
Brokerages and Platforms
There are many Forex brokers in the USA and each will usually offer several execution platforms. You can use any of them.
If you intend to use our NinjaTrader Interface Module, then you must select a broker that uses this platform.
Lots and Pips
A 'PIP' = minimum market movement in the currency. A move from 1.2456 to 1.2478 would be 22 pips.
Example of pips and lot size values:
- Net 50 pips trading 5 standard lots = $2500.00
- Net 100 pips trading 10 standard lots = $10000.00
