The Forex market is the largest foreign exchange market on the planet and here, investors trade pairs of different currencies, making a profit from the changes in their relative value.
To truly understand what is forex, you will need to understand these reasons. One type of trading is done simply to satisfy a need. Large corporations often need different types of currency to pay their employees in other countries. Since these employees desire, and need to be paid in their native currency, companies trade their local currency for the other currencies they need.
The largest use however, is done by traders who wish to profit from the buying and selling of currencies. The value of money fluctuates in much the same way stocks do. Buying low, and selling high is the main goal. These trades are done over-the-counter, meaning they are done via computer, and not in person. This allows virtually anyone, in any location, to participate.
There are some similarities between the Forex market and stock trading, though there are also many major differences. One of the most important differences is that speculative trading on the Forex market is so rare as to be nearly nonexistent. The values of currencies tend to fluctuate more when they are being traded, so currencies which are seeing low volumes of trade tend to shift less and are less likely candidates for profitable trading. As a result, insider trading is a near impossibility in Forex trading.
The market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, with some hours being especially active and others less so. The most active periods are when the major markets are open the New York, London, Sydney and Tokyo markets. Most traders prefer to trade during peak hours, but some traders claim that there are often profitable trades to be made during off hours as well.
It is definitely possible to make money by trading on the Forex market, but there is a lot to learn and it will take time; and there is always the possibility of losses as well. Before you start investing your own money, you need to learn as much as possible about foreign exchange trading. The best informed traders are generally also the most successful, so do your research and prepare to make profitable trades before you get started.
Whoever said that a full time forex business is hard to turn into a profit making machine? The capacity of your foreign exchange business is all dependent upon your creativity as trader.