new to FOREX

[indahook]

That is true. Most of them offer a 5 pip spread max.

 

[msfe]

Quote from dotslashfuture:

I just checked out a forex firm and they said the guaranteed spreads in FOREX are less than the spreads in futures markets. A futures spread typically is equivalent to 7 pips.

b/a spreads of CME/GLOBEX major currency futures (Euro, Japanese Yen, Swiss Franc, British Pound) typically are 1 to 2 ticks/"pips"

http://www.cme.com/products/currency/foreignexchange/foreignexchange.cfm

http://www.cme.com/products/currency/index.cfm

 

[Corso482]

OandA.com has no minimum acct. size and 2 pip spreads on dollar/euro, 3-4 pips for the other majors They don't use lots either. You can trade in any $ amount, meaning there's no disadvantage, trading wise, to having a $100 acct. and a $100,000 acct.

The fact that there's no commission and no acct. minimum makes FX appealing to experiment with, on OandA anyway. They have a free simulator wich is said to be just like the real thing

I've also heard that FX markets are the "trendiest" markets around and perfect for TA.

They trade 24/7, although at certain times, like during the weekends, liquidity drops off a cliff and spreads become huge.

I've looked around and charting is usually expensive. The only programs that can backtest FX, that I know of, are Wealthlab and Tradestation.

This is my my understanding of FX. I've never actually traded it. If i'm wrong about anything, please correct me.

 

[wallaby]

indahook

If you are scalping/short-term you might want to check out www.hotspotfx.com ; you can enter bids & offers and the platform is the closest you'll get to an interbank model such as Reuters or EBS. Can use one of these other shops as backup - preferably where you can also deal over the phone.

Else if one's trading 'macro' trends, it probably doesn't matter which shop you pay the spread at [ might even want to find a broker quoting fwds].