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11. The Different Order Types In The Forex Market

Introduction

In the world of trading, the order types are identical, irrespective of the market you’re trading. The type of the ‘Order’ refers to how you wish to enter or exit a trade. If you’re new to the world of trading, you might only know two order types – Buy and Sell. But there are other order types that serve different purposes, and improve the way you trade. In this lesson, we will be discussing some of the most used orders in the forex market.

Types of Orders

There are about four order types widely used by traders. These are

  • Market Order
  • Limit Entry Order (Buy Limit, Sell Limit)
  • Stop Entry Order (Buy Stop, Sell Stop)
  • Stop Loss Order

Apart from the above, there are other orders that are exclusively offered by specific brokers like ‘Trailing Stop-Loss’ and ‘Profit Booking Order’ but in this article, we shall confine only to these four types.

Understanding the Bid and Ask prices

Let us first discuss these two terms as they form the base for understanding the order types.

Bid price

The bid price is the price at which the broker is willing to buy the currency pair from you. So, when you short sell a currency pair, you will be executed at the bid price.

Ask price

Ask price is the price at which the broker is willing to sell the currency pair to you. So, if you go long (buy) on a currency pair, you will be filled at the ask price.

With this under consideration, let us continue our discussion on different order types.

Market Order

This is the most basic form of order. In a market order, you get filled at the current market price. It is basically the best price available in the market to buy/sell a currency pair.

For example, let’s say the bid price of EURUSD is 1.2150, and the ask price is 1.2152. Now, if you execute a market buy order on this one, you will get filled at the ask price, i.e., at 1.2152. Similarly, if you go short on this pair, you will get filed at 1.2150.

Market orders are fast. A trader uses that order to enter a marker no matter what. That speed and fill guarantee comes at the cost of the slippage is the market has moved from the instant the trader pulls the trigger to when the order is filled.

Limit Entry Order

Limit entry order is an order where a buy order is placed less than the current market price, and a sell order is placed above the current market price.

For example, let’s say the current market price of AUDUSD is 0.6750. Now, if you want to buy it at 0.6725, you will have to place a Buy Limit order at this price. And if you want to short it at 0.6790, you will need to place a Sell Limit order at this price.

Limit orders can be used as entry or as exit orders.

As entry orders, you are applying the logic of buy low and sell high (on short-sell limit orders). A limit order is handy to spot a support area while the price moves back and get filled as the price approaches support.

As exit orders, they are handy to take profits. You place a limit to sell at your profit-taking level on long trades and you place a buy limit order at your profit target level on short trades.

Stop Entry Order

A stop entry order is the reverse of a limit entry order. Here, you can place a buy order above the current market price and a short sell order below the current market price.

For example, let’s say the current market price of GBPJPY 1.6570. Now, if you think the market will head up only if the price breaks above 1.6590, you must place a Buy Stop at the price you wish to buy. So, when the price goes up to 1.6590, your buy order will be executed.

Stop-Loss Order

A stop-loss order is special order for closing a trade. This order is placed against the price at which you bought/sold the currency pair. This is done to avoid further losses from trade. Since this order ‘stops’ the losses, it is called a ‘stop-loss’ order.

For example, let’s say you bought a currency pair at 1.1320. Now, for this trade, if you place a stop-loss at 1.1250, the positions will be closed when the market touches this price, hence, protecting you from further losses.

This completes the lesson on basic order types in the forex market. We will discuss the more premium broker specific orders in our future lessons. For now, take the below quiz and check what you have learned the concepts right.

[wp_quiz id=”45527″]
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8. Which Is The Right Currency Pair To Buy & Sell?

Introduction

By now, we know that trading Forex market involves trading of currencies pairs rather than just a single currency. The working mechanism of this is quite different from that of the stock market. In the previous lessons, we learned how the buying and selling of a  currency pair work. However, this is still insufficient to take a trade on these currencies. Though you have the knowledge of which pair is strong or weak, choosing the right currency pair plays a vital role. There are times where you make a loss even if your analysis of the currency was correct. In this lesson, we shall try keeping you away from incurring these events.

Strength of the currency pairs

As discussed in the previous lessons, in a currency pair, we have something called as a base currency and a quote currency. To brush things up, the left currency on currency pair is called the base currency, and the one on the right is called the quote/counter currency. To trade the forex market successfully, one must do their analysis on both the currencies of the currency pair. For example, if you wish to trade the EURUSD currency pair, having knowledge in either EUR or USD is insufficient. Instead, you must have insights on both the currencies. This will not only prove the rightness of your analysis but will also reduce your risk considerably. Now, let us understand this in detail.

The answer to ‘why’ you must consider both currencies in a currency pair in your analysis rather than just one currency lies in the previous lessons. Well, when you go long/short on a currency pair, you are actually buying one currency and simultaneously selling the other one. So, if you analyze only one currency, you will be blindly be hitting a buy or sell on the other currency. Hence, it becomes equally important to consider the other currency in your analysis as well. For example, if you buy AUD/USD thinking that AUD is strong, there is no certainty that the prices of this pair will rise, as USD has its role to play as well.

Choosing the apt pair to trade

The answer to choosing the right currency pair is self-explanatory. It is always recommended to choose a currency pair where one of them is strong, and the other is equally weak. For example, let’s say in the USD/CHF pair, USD is strong, and CHF is weak. Ideally, one would buy a currency that is strong and would sell a currency pair that is weak. Coming to the case of USD/CHF, if you buy this currency pair, you are buying the USD and even selling CHF at the same time. Hence, you are basically doubling your success probability or halving your failure probability. If we were to visualize this currency pair, the USD would be shooting to the north while the CHF would be dropping towards the south. And in the form of a currency pair (where the base currency is taken into consideration), the chart would visually look in one direction, which is upward.

Apart from strong vs. weak pairs, you can even trade strong/weak vs. neutral pairs as well. But, note that it is highly risky to trade a strong vs. strong or weak vs. weak as the overall direction of the market becomes hard to predict. We hope you understood this concept. Now, let’s take a quick quiz.

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6. Different Ways Of Trading The Forex Market

Introduction

Forex is a market to trade foreign currencies. It is traded 24 hours electronically over-the-counter, meaning the transactions are performed over the networks around the world. One way to trade the forex market is for one party to buy a currency, and the other to sell it. This method is referred to as spot forex trading. Apart from this, there are other ways to trade the Forex market. And in this lesson, we shall discuss these different ways.

Forex market and its types

If we were to consider the primary forex market asset types, we could find four. They are:

Spot Forex Market

Currency Futures

Currency Options

Currency Exchange-traded funds

Now, let us explain the working of each one of them in detail.

Spot Forex Market

As discussed, in the spot forex market, currencies are bought and sold for a short period of time, based on the current market price (CMP). The prices in this market are settled in cash, on the spot, bases on CMP. Hence, the spot market is also called a ‘cash market’ and ‘physical market.’ The settlement of orders in the spot market takes two days, while in the futures market, it takes much longer.

Spot trading is the most popular form of trading where the majority of the retail traders trade on. There is great liquidity in this market, and brokers even offer tight spreads on them. Apart from retail traders, other participants in this market include commercial banks, central banks, arbitrageurs, and speculators.

Currency futures market

In the currency futures market, the buyer buys a contract of one currency by paying another currency. While the seller of the contract holds the opposite obligation. And this obligation is due on the expiration date of the future. The ratio of the currencies is settled in advance between both the parties (the time when the contract is made). The parties make a profit or a loss depending on the difference between the real effective price on the date of expiry and the settled price.

Currency Options

A currency option is a type of options contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a currency pair at a given price before a set time of expiry. To get this right, the holder of the option pays a premium to the seller who is known as an option seller.

There are two types of currency options, ‘Call option’ and ‘Put option.’ A call option gives the buyer the right to buy a currency pair at the strike price before the expiry date. A put option gives a buyer the right to sell a currency pair at the strike price before the expiry date. Currency options are a popular way of protecting against loss.

Since the options are a bit complex, let’s understand them with an example. If you believe that the price of the Euro will rise against the US dollar, you can buy a currency call with a strike price of 1.31000 and expiry at the end of the month. If the price of EUR/USD is below 1.31000 on the expiration day, the option expires worthless, and you would lose the premium paid. On the other hand, if EUR/USD increases to 1.50000, you can exercise the option and buy the currency for 1.31000 (At strike price). By doing this, you have generated high returns on your investment by using options.

Currency exchange-traded funds

Back then, Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were only available for the stock market. But in the present, ETFs have expanded to the Forex market as well.

A currency ETF is a fund that clubs a single or typically a bunch of currency pairs. These funds are managed by financial institutions and are offered to the public for purchase on an exchange board. Hence, one can trade ETFs just like any share on the stock market.

These are the four primary ways of trading the Forex market. Now take the quick quiz below to know if you have understood the above concepts.

[wp_quiz id=”42577″]
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4 – Understanding The Mechanism In Buying And Selling Of Currency Pairs

Introduction

The mechanism of the forex market is quite different when compared with other markets like stocks and commodities. In the stock market, we essentially consider a company’s stock to trade. But in the foreign exchange market, we cannot trade a single currency. Instead, we must trade them in pairs.

In the previous lessons, we understood the meaning of base and quote currencies and also the right way to read the symbols. In this lesson, let’s explain how exactly this buying and selling happens in the Forex market.

The working principle

Before getting into the topic, let us understand a few common terms to grip the concept much better.

Long – It is a basic term in trading, which refers to the ‘buying of security.

Short Selling – This term refers to the ‘borrowing’ of security from the broker and selling it at the current market price. You can assume this to be the right opposite of long. Note that Shorting security and selling security are two different terms.

For example, let’s say you went long on a security, and now you wish to close it. To close it, you will have to ‘sell’ it. Here, you are ‘selling’ and not ‘shorting’ the security.

Now, with this on our back, let us get into the working of buying and selling currency pairs.

Going Long on a Currency Pair

When you go long on a currency pair, you actually buy the base currency, and short sell the quote currency. For example, if you go long 100,000 units on EUR/USD, you are buying 100,000 Euros and short selling 100,000 US Dollars.

Short Selling a Currency Pair

Short selling in the forex market is quite different from that of the stock market. In the forex market, when you short sell a currency pair, you will be selling the base currency and buying the quote currency. Hence, shorting in forex is the same as placing a regular sell order.

However, the main motive remains that the prices must decline from the point you executed the short position to generate a profit. For example, if you short 10,000 units of USD/CAD, you are actually selling 10,000 US Dollars and buying the same number of Canadian Dollars. Hence, here, you’re not borrowing a certain amount of currency to go short.

What next?

With the concept of the long and short sell, let us understand how to make a profit from it.

To profit from a long trade, you need the currency pair prices to increase.

To profit from a short trade, you need the currency pair prices to decline.

This also implies that, in a long trade, an increase in the base currency prices will put you in profit, and in a short trade, a decrease in the base currency prices will give you profits.

Example

Consider the current market price of USD/CHF to be 0.9850. Let’s say you went long on this currency pair. The buy/sell mechanism here is simple – you bought the USD (the base currency) and simultaneously short sold the CHF (the quote currency). Hence, to make a profit from this, you need currency pair prices to increase, which in turn means that you need the value of the base currency (USD) to increase or the value of the CHF to decrease because you’ve bought the USD.

This is how the buying and selling of currency pairs work internally. However, since all of this is managed by the broker, all you need to know is if the prices should rise or fall according to the position you took.

In the next article, we will be discussing the sheer size and liquidity of the Forex market along with the perks involved. For now, check if you can get the below questions right.

[wp_quiz id=”42315″]
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3 – Reading & Understanding The Currency Pairs

Introduction 

From the previous lesson, we know that global currencies are traded in the Forex market. These currencies are exchanged in pairs. We also understood what Major, Minor, and Exotic pairs are. In this lesson, let’s discuss more characteristics of these currency pairs.

Out of the three types of currency pairs, the most traded type are Majors. These major pairs contribute more than 85% of the total Forex trading volume. Prices in these pairs move in tighter spreads, but they are a bit volatile during market opening hours. Major pairs are those who have USD in them. Some of the major pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF. The other vital pairings which do not include the US dollar are known as ‘cross currencies.’ Some of these are GBP/EUR, EUR/CHF, EUR/JPY, etc.

Reading a Currency Pair

Since we are talking about currency pairs and the Forex market, it is essential to learn how to read them. Every currency has a three-letter symbol defined by the International Organization for Standardization(ISO), which is straight forward. Below is the terminology for some of the major currencies.

  • British Pound for GBP
  • US dollar for USD
  • Japanese Yen for JPY
  • Swiss Franc for CHF
  • Euro for EUR

To understand the reading of a currency pair, you need to know the meaning of base and quote currencies. The first currency in a Forex pair is called base currency, and the second one is called quote currency. As we know, trading the Forex market involves selling one currency to buy the other. For instance, we sell the base currency to buy the quote currency. Let’s say you are trading USD/CAD. USD is your base currency, and CAD is your quote currency. Here, when we are executing a sell trade on this pair, we are primarily selling USD to buy CAD. And vice-versa if you are placing a buy trade.

How much one unit of the base currency is worth against the quote currency defines the price of a pair. In the above example, if USD/CAD is trading at 1.32267, that means one US dollar is worth 1.32267 Canadian dollars.

Liquidity of Major Pairs

Liquidity in these pairs is the highest when compared to other pairs. The larger the import/export value between two nations, the more liquid the currency pair of these countries will become. EUR/USD is the most liquid pair in the world. Major currency pairs should not be confused as the best currency pairs to trade. Trading a particular currency pair depends more on strategy and market sessions. When we say ‘major,’ we mean the most actively-traded Forex pair. The six most actively-traded Forex pairs are:

  • EUR/USD
  • USD/JPY
  • GBP/USD
  • USD/CAD
  • USD/CHF
  • AUD/USD

One of the reasons behind these currencies being traded so extensively is the political and economic stability associated with these currencies. Big investors feel it is safe to park their money in such economies.

What Should You Trade?

If a currency pair has high liquidity, the volatility of that pair decreases. Currency pairs that are linked with the market openings should be our first choice. For example, it is recommended to trade the US dollar during New York open or trading the Australian dollar during Asia opening, as there will be good volatility during this time. Also, consider economic news releases, technical chart analysis, and other events while choosing the currency pair to trade. For people who have just begun their Forex trading journey, it is recommended to start trading major currency pairs before experimenting with minors and exotics. Now try answering the below questions.

[wp_quiz id=”41992″]
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Introduction To The ‘Ultimate Forex Course’ By The Forex Academy!

At Forex Academy, we give utmost importance to education. To be successful, you need to learn before you Earn. So for that same purpose, we have designed a proprietory course helped by industry experts. This extensive course will cover almost everything one needs to know about the Forex market. All relevant aspects of the trading business will be discussed here, starting right from the fundaments to the advanced trading concepts. We will be publishing one article per day so that it will be a continuous learning process. And guess what? The curse is entirely free for our readers.

Introduction To The Course

In this one-of-a-kind course, we will explain everything you need to know about Forex trading. The Forex market has evolved rapidly in recent times. It is not the same that you would have seen or heard a decade ago. The fundamentals are changing, psychology is changing, and complexity has increased. Technology not available in the 90s has now become robust and is being used extensively by traders and banks. As retail traders, we should prepare as best as possible to meet these global changes.

We have created this course, keeping in mind the rapid changes happening in the forex market. You need to use a structural method of learning, which is what we have done. Education shouldn’t be in bits and pieces, this will only create confusion, and you cannot gain anything from that knowledge. You will gain an insight into fundamental and technical expertise and how you can use them together to make the best trades. We have compiled this information from the best sources. Most importantly, the course contents have been written based on the personal experience of the writers. Forex.Academy is the right place to start for any person looking to start his trading career.

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Keep track of your learning with the quizzes

At the end of each article, we have included a quiz that will test your understanding of the topic. To be confident about what you have read, try to answer all of them correctly. If you are unable to answer, that means you need to reread the article. Rereading the article will clear all your doubts and make you an expert. Once you got all the answers right, you are ready to go ahead to the next section.

What will you learn by the end of this course?

By the time you reach the end of the course, you will be halfway through your trading journey. The only thing left for you to do is to practice the trading strategies discussed along the course. You will have all the knowledge you need to be a successful trader. See you on the course.

All the best! Happy Learning!