Types of Foreign Exchange Orders

Types of Foreign Exchange Orders

Entry Orders: An order, stop or limit, initiating an open position and executed when a specific price level is reached and/or broken. The execution is handled by the dealing desk and the order is in effect until cancelled by the client.

Entry Limit Orders: An order initiating an open position to sell as the market rises, or buy as the market falls. The client believes the market will reverse direction at the level of the order.

Entry Stop Orders: An order initiating an open position to sell as the market falls, or buy as the market rises. The client placing the order believes that prices will continue to move in the same direction as the previous momentum after hitting the order level.

Limit Orders: A limit order is an order tied to a specific position for the purpose of locking in the gains from that position. A limit entry order placed on a buy position is an order to sell. A limit order placed on a sell position is an order to buy. A limit order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or cancelled by the client.

Market Order: An order to buy or sell which is to be filled immediately at the prevailing currency price.

OCO (One Cancels the Other): A stop-loss order and a limit order linked to a specific position. One order, the stop, is to prevent additional loss on the position, and one order, the limit is to take profit on the position. When either order is executed, closing the position, the other is automatically cancelled.

Stop-Loss Orders: An order linked to a specific position to close that position and prevent additional losses. A stop-loss order placed on a buy position is an order to sell that position. A stop-loss order on a sell position is an order to buy that position. A stop-loss order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or cancelled by the client.

Forex Calculation

Forex Calculation

Although the trading platform automatically does the profit and loss calculation for you in real time, it is important to understand how these equations are derived.


Equations for calculating major currency pairs:

The equation for EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and AUD/USD [direct currency pairs] is as follows:

P / L = ( closing rate - opening rate ) x lot size x number of lots

The equation for USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD [indirect currency pairs] is as follows:

P / L = ( closing rate - opening rate ) / closing rate x lot size x number of lots

In a 100,000 units/contract size account, 1 pip results $10 profit/loss in EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, approximately $9 in USD/JPY, and $8 in USD/CHF.

In a 10,000 units/contract size account, 1 pip results $1 profit/loss in EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, approximately $0.9 in USD/JPY, and $0.8 in USD/CHF.

NOTE: Buy = Long = Ask = Offer ; Sell = Short = Bid


Calculation Example:

The current bid/ask price for EUR/USD is 1.2322/1.2325, meaning to purchase every unit of Euro, you need 1.2325 units of U.S. dollar or sell every unit of Euro, you need 1.2322 units of U.S. dollar.

Let's assume that you decide the Euro is undervalued against U.S. dollar. To profit from your strategy, you would buy Euro (sell dollar) at 1.2325. Thus when the price of Euro rises, you would sell Euro (purchase U.S. dollar) for a profit.

You bought 100,000 units of Euro at 1.2325.

Some time later, EUR/USD price is at 1.2355/1.2358 just like you expected. So you decide to sell Euro (puchase U.S. dollar) or close your position for a profit.

In this senario, your profit is 1.2355 - 1.2325 = 30 pips.

Equation:
( 1.2355 [ closing rate ] - 1.2325 [ opening rate ] ) x 100,000 [ unit / lot ] x 1 [ lot ] = $300 [ profit ]

What is Pip/Point?
Pip (or point) is the term used in currency market to represent the smallest incremental move an exchange rate can make. Depending on context, normally one basis point (0.0001 in the case of EUR/USD, GBD/USD, USD/CHF and .01 in the case of USD/JPY).

What is Lot Size ?
Lot or Contract is the standard unit of trading on certain exchanges. For example : 10000 (mini account) or 100000 (standard account)

Utilizing Stop Loss Order

Utilizing Stop Loss Order

A stop-loss is an order linked to a specific position for the purpose of closing that position and preventing the position from accruing additional losses. A stop-loss order placed on a Buy (or Long) position is a stop-loss order to Sell and close that position. A stop-loss order placed on a Sell (or Short) position is a stop-loss order to Buy and close that position. A stop-loss order remains in effect until the position is liquidated or the client cancels the stop-loss order. As an example, if an investor is Long (Buy) USD at 120.27, they might wish to put in a stop-loss order to Sell at 119.49, which would limit the loss on the position to the difference between the two rates (120.27-119.49) should the dollar depreciate below 119.49. A stop-loss would not be executed and the position would remain open until the market trades at the stop-loss level. Stop-loss orders are an essential tool for controlling your risk in currency trading.

Risk Management

Risk Management

The Forex Market is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world. Since macroeconomic forces are one of the main drivers of the value of currencies in the global economy, currencies tend to have the most identifiable trend patterns. Therefore, the Forex market is a very attractive market for active traders, and presumably where they should be the most successful. However, success has been limited mainly for the following reasons:

Many traders come with false expectations of the profit potential, and lack the discipline required for trading. Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is not the way most people will achieve quick riches. Simply because Forex trading may seem exotic or less familiar then traditional markets (i.e. equities, futures, etc.), it does not mean that the rules of finance and simple logic are suspended. One cannot hope to make extraordinary gains without taking extraordinary risks, and that means suffering inconsistent trading performance that often leads to large losses. Trading currencies is not easy, and many traders with years of experience still incur periodic losses. One must realize that trading takes time to master and there are absolutely no short cuts to this process.

The most enticing aspect of trading Forex is the high degree of leverage used. Leverage seems very attractive to those who are expecting to turn small amounts of money into large amounts in a short period of time. However, leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot ($10,000) of currency only requires $100 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $1,000 in his account should be easily able to trade 10 lots. One lot is $10,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves (get in with a position that is too big for their portfolio), and as a consequence, often end up forced to exit a position at the wrong time.

For example, if your account value is $10,000 and you place a trade for 1 lot, you are in effect, leveraging yourself 10 to 1, which is a very significant level of leverage. Most professional money managers will leverage no more then 3 or 4 times. Trading in small increments with protective stops on your positions will allow one the opportunity to be successful in Forex trading.