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Forex Assets

Trading The USD/CZK Exotic Forex Currency Pair

Introduction

USDCZK is the short-form for the US Dollar against the Czech Koruna. Since CZK is involved in this pair, it is classified as an exotic currency pair. Here, the US Dollar is called the base currency and the CZK the quote currency.

Understanding USD/CZK

The value of USDCZK determines the value of CZK equivalent to one USD. It is quoted as 1 USD per X CZK. So, if the market value of this pair is 22.4773, then many Koruna is required to buy one US Dollar.

Spread

Spread is the difference between the bid and the ask prices set by the broker. The amount of spread varies based on the type of execution model.

ECN: 16 pips | STP: 18 pips

Fees

The fee is a commission that has to be paid to the broker for every trade the clients take. This value depends on the type of execution model used by the broker. As a matter of fact, there is no fee on STP accounts.

Slippage

The difference between the trader’s required price and the broker’s executed price is referred to as the slippage. The slippage size depends on the broker’s execution speed and the volatility of the market.

Trading Range in USD/CZK

The minimum, average, and maximum volatility of the market are necessary to assess the profit/loss that can be made on a trade. And is a representation of the same for USDCZK.

Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can determine an extensive period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

USD/CZK Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

The total cost depends on the volatility of the market. Below is a table that shows the variation in the total costs for different volatilities in terms of percentages.

NOTE: These percentages are obtained by finding the ratio between the total cost and the volatility of the market in different timeframes.

ECN Model Account

Spread = 16 | Slippage = 3 |Trading fee = 3

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 3 + 16 + 3 = 22

STP Model Account

Spread = 18 | Slippage = 3 | Trading fee = 0

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 3 + 18 + 0 = 21

The Ideal way to trade the USD/CZK

The volatility in this currency pair is pretty high compared to major and minor currency pairs. And the costs are low by default for the exotic currency pairs. However, it is not ideal for this pair at any time.

The main focus of exotic currencies is to trade when the volatility is not too high. Hence, trading when the volatility is around average and maximum values in the volatility table will ensure decent volatility with lower costs as well.

Another simple technique to reduce costs is by placing limit/stop orders instead of executing by the market. In doing so, the slippage will be taken away from the total costs, which will, in turn, reduce the total cost of the trade.

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Forex Assets

Analyzing The USD/SGD Forex Currency Pair

Introduction

US dollar versus the Singapore dollar, in short, is referred to as USDSGD. USD stands for the US dollar and is the base currency, and SGD stands for the Singapore dollar and is the quote currency. This currency pair comes under the sack of exotic currency pairs. Unlike the major and minor currencies, exotic currencies tend to have high volatility and low volumes.

Understanding USD/SGD

Comprehending the value of USDSGD is simple. The number of SGD equivalent to one USD is the value of the currency pair USDSGD. It is quoted as 1 USD per X SGD. So, if the value of this pair is 1.3641, then 1.3241 units of SGD are to be produced to purchase one USD.

Spread

Spread is a term given to the difference between the bid price and ask price of a currency pair. This value varies from broker to broker and on the type of execution model.

ECN: 7 | STP: 9

Fees

The fee is similar to the commission that is paid on each trade. This value, too, varies based on how the brokers execute a trade. Note that there is no fee on STP accounts. However, there is a fee on ECN accounts. And for exotic pairs, the fee is pretty high.

Slippage

Slippage is the difference between the price that a trader expected to receive and the price he actually got. There is always this difference due to the volatility of the market and the broker’s execution speed.

Trading Range in USD/SGD

Assessing the profit or loss that a trader is liable for is considered to be a vital factor in trading. This can easily be determined using the table below, which represents the pip movements in the currency pair in a given timeframe.

Procedure to assess Pip Ranges

  1. Add the ATR indicator to your chart
  2. Set the period to 1
  3. Add a 200-period SMA to this indicator
  4. Shrink the chart so you can assess a large time period
  5. Select your desired timeframe
  6. Measure the floor level and set this value as the min
  7. Measure the level of the 200-period SMA and set this as the average
  8. Measure the peak levels and set this as Max.

USD/SGD Cost as a Percent of the Trading Range

The total cost on a trade does not remain static even though you’re trading with the same broker. It varies depending on the volatility of the currency pair. To find the variation of these costs, we consider the values in the pip movement table and find the ratio with the total cost, and represent in percentage.

ECN Model Account

Spread = 7 | Slippage = 3 |Trading fee = 3

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 7 + 3 + 3 = 13

STP Model Account

Spread = 9 | Slippage = 3 | Trading fee = 0

Total cost = Slippage + Spread + Trading Fee = 9 + 3 + 0 = 12

The Ideal way to trade the USD/SGD

As mentioned, exotic pairs are pretty expensive to trade. However, it can still be traded in some moments when the costs are low.

It can be ascertained from the above table that the percentages are maximum in the min column and minimum on the max column. This means that the costs are high when the market’s volatility is low and vice versa.

Now, to ensure moderate volatility with affordable costs, it is ideal to trade when the volatility of the market is somewhere around the average values of the volatility table.

Slippage is a variable in the total cost that can be erased by trading using limit orders instead of market orders. In doing so, the costs will be reduced by a significant value. For example, if the total cost on the trade was 13 (including slippage=3), then the costs would be reduced to 10 as slippage is not considered.